Battle Scars
by foreverphantom014
Summary: I don't know when everything just became...numb, but it did. Now I'll do anything to feel something. Anything. Trigger Warning: Self-Harm, Alcohol, Drugs
1. Chapter 1

Trigger warning: self-harm, drugs, and alcohol

I have no idea when everything became so numb. Soon, I looked forward to the injuries that ghost fighting brought everyday. I stopped going to Sam to get patched up, letting the wounds sting just a _little _longer, with the excuse that it wasn't bad enough for me not to be able to do it. Sam reluctantly let it go when I refused to talk about it anymore. Just so I could _feel _something.

Soon, it was all too much. The ghost fights, the bullying, school, home...it was too much for me to handle anymore. I had to find a stress relief somewhere. So...I turned to a habit that probably wasn't the best.

Cutting.

Yes, before you say it, I know I'm an idiot.

I shouldn't want to hurt myself after all the pain I go through everyday, but I'm not looking for the pain. I'm looking for the tranquility that comes _with _the pain. It clears my head for long enough to forget the responsibilities that weigh me down.

All that weight is taken off my shoulders and I feel free. Those are the times that I go flying. My head feels less cloudy and everything is sharp. Nothing usually bothers me.

Tucker and Sam started getting too busy with their junior year schedules to hang out with me much, so I usually just spent time alone. They don't even notice whenever I go to the bathroom without my ghost sense going off. Tucker just nods and takes out an extra piece of paper to take notes for me. Sometimes I feel bad, but he's a good friend.

That's why I'm not telling them about my newfound addiction. I can control this. I won't get too far gone. I can't stop whenever I want!

I just don't want to.

...

I woke up to the sun shining in my face. I groaned slightly before getting up. I checked the bandages on my wrist to find them dark brown with dried blood. I nodded to myself as I took out my bandages I kept in my underwear drawer, the only drawer my mother doesn't check. What she doesn't know, won't kill her.

I ran the shower, getting it to the temperature I liked, and took off my ruined bandages. The angry red lines stood out on my pale skin. I didn't waste time to look at them, I just disposed of the bandages and stripped down out of the rest of my clothes. I stepped into the shower, flinching when the water touched my cuts. That was the only part I _really _dislike, the pain of water washing out the probably slightly infected cuts.

I washed my hair quickly, hissing when some soap got into the lower sitting ones, and rinsed. After I was done, I slung a towel over my hips, opened the door and crossed my arms (just in case Jazz was lurking around the corner). Thankfully, the hallway was empty and I was able to make it to my bedroom, where my _mom _was lurking around the corner.

"GAH!" I screeched, clasping my arms tighter together. "Mom!"

"Sorry sweetie! Just bringing up your laundry. Which needs to be put away when you get home from school." Mom smiled before patting my damp shoulders with her hands and closing the door behind her.

I let out a sigh of relief before dropping the towel and grabbing a pair of black boxer briefs from the drawer, pulling them on, and rewrapping my wrists. After they were sufficiently wrapped, I went to my closet and pulled out my red and black striped long sleeved shirt and my dark wash blue skinny jeans, and pulled them on, careful of my arms.

I towel dried my ebony hair and let it fall over my face. My bangs were longer than they were when I was 14, and I liked them better. I could hide behind them easier.

I stepped into my red converse, tying them up, and flinging my purple backpack over my shoulders. I walked down the stairs carefully, my hand sliding over the railing. "You want pancakes, honey?" My mom asked. My sister looked over her book, scowling at the slightly glowing pancakes. "I'll pass mom. I'm just going to head to school." I smiled, before rushing out into the cool fall evening. I don't know what I was going to do when it wouldn't be socially acceptable to wear long sleeves. I guess I'll cross that bridge when I get there.

I set a brisk walk to Tucker's house to walk with him to school. I can't wait till me, Sam, or Tucker gets our licenses, but my 16th birthday isn't for 1 month from now..and I'm the oldest. Tucker was chilling on his steps, playing on his PDA. My best friend has grown a lot in the past almost 2 years. He's 6"4' and still wears his thick nerd glasses, yellow long sleeved shirt, and brown cargo pants with brown boots. The only difference is his height.

I shoved his elbow off the ledge, making him fall slightly before he turned and glared. "Not cool dude!" He scowled.

I laughed. "Well...I thought it was funny!"

"Whatever." Tucker shrugged, looking guilty.

"What's that look?" I asked. "Well...Sam and I are studying tonight and aren't going to be able go on patrol or the movies." Tucker said, playing with his hands.

My face fell. There goes my Friday night. "It's fine. I know you guys have really hard classes..." I said, lying slightly. I rubbed at my arms as I felt the need to cut. "Dude I'm so sorry. I really want to hang out with you...Saturday. I promise. Just you and me. We'll play Doom and talk." Tucker promised.

That was the third time that he has promised that to me.

"Okay, Tuck. But don't worry about it. I could catch up on sleep." I lied. Tucker smiled brightly. "Thank god! I was afraid I was gonna lose ya buddy!"

I smile fakely back before shifting my attention to Sam as we approached her house. She was taking a bite of her apple and staring at it intently. She was wearing a dark green long sleeve shirt and black leggings with purple high top converse. Her hair was down to her waist and her new bangs were covering her right eye. Her purple eyes darted over to us and grinned widely, guilt in her eyes.

"Hey guys!" Sam greeted. Tucker smiled. "I told him, he's cool with it."

"Thank god. I'm so sorry Danny! We'll make it up to you." Sam grinned before falling in step with us.

I smiled and shrugged my shoulders. Sam hadn't grown as much as me and Tuck had. While we are around 6 feet tall, she stayed lower to the ground, like her mother. She was a shortish 5"5'.

We made it to school and immediately parted ways. Tucker and Sam went to AP Pre Calculus and I went to gym. I usually stuck around the back, near Frank Smith's crew. I was about 20 minutes into gym class when he approached me.

"Hey Fenton. I was wondering if you wanted to go to my party tonight? I noticed Sam and Tucker ditching you lately and thought I'd offer you a fun Friday night." Frank smirked. I smiled, considering the offer.

"Why not!" I replied, knowing what to expect from the 5"6' brown haired and brown eyed boy. "Great. See you then Danny." He departed, leaving me to my thoughts. At least I had a fun Friday to look forward too, just like Frank said. Franks parties usually had so many people high and wasted, though. I guess it doesn't hurt to try.

But one things for sure, I can't tell Sam or Tucker. They'll freak and refuse to let me go, but they don't have a say anymore.

It's all about me lately.

My ghost sense signaled the arrival of a ghost in the area, so I quickly went into the locker room and transformed into my ghost half, quickly taking to the air. The bell signaled that I was going to be late for class, again, and that Sam and Tucker would probably be in gym by the time I was back.

A dark figure, literally, appeared in front of me, red eyes gleaming. "What's wrong with you? It's _delicious!_" Spectra smiled. I punched her in the face.

"Yeah, nothing. I'm perfectly fine." I lied.

"See I can tell when you are lying, Danny. You should let it all out!" Spectra said in her annoyingly fake voice. I groaned. "Whatever. Let's just-WOAH!" I screeched suddenly as she grabbed my arm and threw me towards the school gym, breaking the ceiling and crashing inside.

Sam and Tucker were in the middle of pull ups when it had happened. Tellstaff was already rounding up everyone and putting them on the bleachers. As I tried to get up, Spectra slammed me back into the groaned, hands pinning my arms down.

"There must be _something _bothering you. I can feel it. There's something wrong, but no one else can see that can they? They see that you're fine. When you aren't." Spectra deliberated. She stood, ecto-goo holding my wrists down in her place.

"You know nothing about me, Spectra." I said, emotionless.

"That's where you are wrong, Phantom. You like being in control of your life. You don't like where it's headed. Your friends don't hang out with you anymore, yet you follow them around like a lost puppy. Face it, you are a freak and you are hopeless." Spectra spat.

I froze my bonds and broke through them, flying at top speed towards the smiling ghost. "Like I said, Spectra, you know nothing about me." I lied. She had basically hit the nail on the head, but I'm not telling her that.

I sucked her into the thermos and flew off. I hadn't got hurt too badly, but there was a piece of glass in my forearm. No matter. I pulled it out, not minding the pain, before I transformed back to human. Good, everything's fine and the bandages cover the cut. Now I have a reason for the bandages if anyone sees them.

The rest of the day passed by uneventful. I didn't see Sam or Tuck for the rest of the day, which sucked but at the same time was good because I was afraid I'd let I was going to Frank's party slip. I waited by my locker for them, but they never showed so it was safe to bet they were already on their way to the library...without me.

I sighed. This wasn't the first time that they decided not to walk home from school with me. It's happened all the time throughout the course of the year. We are drifting apart and I'm not okay with that, but I don't tell them because I want them to be happy. College makes them happy, so I'm not going to complain.

Even if I'm broken inside…

As I walked home, I stopped by Sam's house to see if Tucker was there. I turned invisible and flew throughout the house making my final stop the basement.

Sure enough, there he was. And they were watching the movie we were supposed to watch tonight.

"I feel bad leaving Danny out more often…" Sam sighed, turning down the volume.

"But at least we don't have to pause the movie and wait for him to deal with a ghost." Tucker mumbled in between bites of popcorn. "Tucker! He's our best friend…" Sam hesitated.

"Is he Sam? He never tells us anything anymore! You saw Spectra today, naming off things that was wrong with him that he _hadn't told us_." Tucker said. I don't blame them, I'd ditch me too.

"Spectra also said that we ditched him…" Sam countered. Glad to know that she's on my side. "Sam...since when have our grades been this good? Since we decided to hang out less with Danny!" Tucker added.

"...I don't...know…" Sam trailed off. I sighed quietly. I should leave them alone for awhile. I won't walk with them to school anymore either if that's how they feel.

I flew off towards my house to check in with my mom and do some homework before the party. I was now excited that I had the chance to illegally get wasted. And high. Maybe laid, who knows?

"Hey sweetie! How was school?" Mom asked. I shrugged. "Same old. Hanging out with a couple friends tonight. I'll be out late. Don't wait up!" I smiled, taking the plate of food she was offering me to the table. "Oh? Sam and Tucker?" Mom asked, a faint smile on her face.

"Nah...they've been ditching me lately, so I'm gonna go to a party. See if I can make any new friends to give them some space." I told her nonchalantly.

"They've been ditching you?" I heard my sister call from the living room, her voice growing closer as she made her way to the kitchen. "Yeah, but I understand why." I looked to Jazz, trying to tell her with my eyes.

"Danny, that's not a good enough reason…" Jazz said, anger filling her eyes as she realized.

"Well, they'll come through eventually you just-" _Ring! Ring!_ "-oh, I'll get it." Mom jogged into the living room to answer the phone.

"Hello? Oh...hello Sam." She said hesitantly. I sighed and got up, knowing she would want to talk to me. "Yeah, he's right here. Talk to you soon. Bye." Mom smiled sympathetically to me as she handed me the phone. I took a deep breath before putting the phone to my ear.

"Hey Sammy." I said in a happy tone.

"_Hey Danny. So I just wanted to apologize about Tucker and I's behavior. You are our best friend and we should be making time for _you _and I realize that we haven't been doing that lately. Is it too late for you to come over and watch that movie with us?" _She breathed out, her voice uneasy through the phone.

"Uhm…" I twirled the phone cord between my fingers. "I'm sorry Sam, but I already made plans." I admitted.

"_Oh? With who?_" She asked skeptically.

"Oh you know, gonna hang out with my family n'stuff." I mumbled, knowing that she knew I was lying.

"_Oh, We'll just come over then._" She replied, urging me on.

"That's not necessary. It's family bonding." I lied further, knowing that she wasn't buying it.

"_...I'm sure your parents wouldn't mind if we joined in on your family bonding, I mean, we are practically family._" Sam wouldn't let this go! Jeez…

"Sorry Sam, not this time. I'll see you at school. Bye." I snapped, hanging up the phone sharply. Mom jumped and looked at me, getting ready to scold me. "I should go." I said quickly. "Got to make it to that party." I said, looking at my watch. It was already 7 and it started at 7. "I'm actually late. Bye. Don't wait up." I called before quickly sprinting out the door.

So I've got the family sated for now and a probably very pissed off Sam Manson off my trail, now all I've got to do is get really wasted. Or high, I'm not picky.

…

When I got to the party, Frank immediately greeted me at the door. "Hey Danny! Lemme get you something to drink." He yelled over the music. I nodded, pausing when I felt my phone vibrate. "Come on!" Frank motioned me forward. I pulled out my phone to see what the deal was.

_Sister Jazz [rec] sam n tuck just showed up, v pissed off that you lied. they want u home._

_Sister Jazz [sent] pass. see you later._

I rolled my eyes at Sam's antics before Frank handed me a glass.

"Well? Bottoms up!" Frank smirked, raising his own glass.

Bottoms up.

…

Everything was really _trippy_. I was giggling and making out with this girl who I had never talked to before, but it was nice. There was some _strange magical force vibrating in my pocket_!

_WOAHHHHHH!_

I was giggling again when it was ringing, a strange magical tone. The girl stopped kissing me to bite at my neck while I fished out the _magical device sent by the gods _to press the _cucumber button_.

"Helloooooo." I slurred, giggling. The girl kissing my neck giggled with me.

"_Daniel Fenton!_" A young female voice yelled in my ear. _Wicked._

"Sammy? Is that you!? What are you doing in the strange box thing?" I slurred.

"_Danny Fenton are you _drunk_?_" Sammy snapped. "_Where the hell are you?_"

"I'm at Frankies house but shhhh don't tell Sammy and Tucky!" I laughed into the phone, the girl deciding to run her hands under my shirt.

"_Frank?! Frank Smith?! Daniel Fenton!_" Sammy yelled again. Whoops? Did I accidentally tell Sam? _OOPS!_

"Lets go somewhere private." The girl slurred into my ear.

"Well Sammy! I's gots to gos! Byeeee!" I turned off the magical talking box and followed the girl into an empty room.

I don't know what we did but it was _funnnnnnnnnnnnnn_.

After it was done, the girl fell asleep and I got dressed, even though I don't know why I took them off...I don't remember. Haha!

I stumbled around the party and ran into a girl. "Whoopsie!" I slurred as I fell. The purple eyes angel glared down at me before pulling me up forcefully and dragging me away with her. "Woahhh where are you taking me pretty angel fromm heavenn?" I hiccuped. She rolled her eyes and thrusted me into the arms of a redhead demon spawn and a weird person with looking glasses.

"I found your brother. Let's go." The angel snapped. "Why is the angel made at me, devil lady?" I asked her. The look glass guy snorted. "Because you worried her... and you lied. Do you even know who you are?" She asked.

"Nope!" I smiled. The redhead smacked her forehead and the look glass guy just laughed harder. "Dude! You are so funny wasted!" He grinned.

"What?" I asked, still smiling. "Nothing…!" The guy laughed harder, barely able to get the word out.

"Lets go!" The angel came back giving me my jacket (I had a jacket on?) and putting me into a metal animal.

"Why did you do this?" The angel whispered as I laid down, putting my head in her lap.

"Well….I have these two friends who haven't been hanging out with me and that hurts really bad, but not as bad as…"

I didn't finish that sentence because the world turned black, and less colorful.


	2. Chapter 2

When I woke up, my head was killing me and I couldn't open my eyes.

"Whaa?" I groaned, wincing whenever my voice was too loud. I opened my eyes to a room that wasn't mine and darkness. Thank god.

What happened last night? I went to Frank's party and drank. Apparently a lot. I lifted myself off the bed and looked to the side where a glass of water and aspirin were waiting for me. I thanked God for whoever was looking out for me (seriously they are a saint) and quickly downed the pills and the water. My phone was also on the nightstand. I hadn't come home last night so my parents were probably pissed off.

When I went to grab it, something jerked tightly in my stomach and I brought my hand to my chest. Well shit I'm gonna puke. I ran to the adjacent bathroom and hurled my guts out into the porcelain toilet. My knuckles turned white as I gripped the sides tightly, my head pounding.

I felt someone rubbing my back gently, bringing my sweaty bangs away from my face with gentle hands. When I was done, I flushed the toilet and took the cup of mouthwash from them gratefully.

"Are you good?" The voice said. Sam.

"Uh. No." I said, gurgling the mouthwash and spitting it in the sink. "That was stupid, Danny! Since when do you hang out with Frank Smith?" She asked gently, crossing her arms.

"I don't. I just-I didn't want to sit alone at home all night, so I went to a party."

"And got so completely wasted you couldn't remember your own name?" Sam asked, eyes flashing in anger. I scowled.

"Yeah, but I'm fine now so..." I trailed off, motioning to the door she was blocking my way of. "Danny you don't tell me anything anymore..." She said sadly.

"...I know." I said simply. I just want to leave and possibly never come back.

"Why? What did I do?" She asked. I wanted to answer, "_Everything,_" but I didn't. I simply said, "Nothing."

"Then tell me why you decided to do something completely crazy and possibly blow your secret!" She begged. I glared sharply at her. "Because I wanted to have fun for once." I snapped before pushing past her and into the room I was, grabbing my phone and shoes. I felt gross, but I wasn't going to stay here. Not when Sam was making me feel guilty.

"When you were drunk you said 'I have these two friends that don't hang out with me anymore and that hurts, but not as much as...' but you didn't finish the sentence. What were you going to say?" Sam asked quietly, the grabbing me by the wrist.

"I don't know. I was too drunk to remember my name..remember?" I snapped, but I knew exactly what I was going to say.

...

"Hey Mom..." I said hesitantly into the phone.

"_Daniel Fenton! You have 20 minutes to be back into this house so I can see that you are okay!_" My mom yelled, her voice amplified due to the massive hangover.

"I'm sorry mom, I fell asleep at Sam's. I walked to her house to apologize and ended up crashing there." I lied, knowing why Sam brought me to her house instead of my own.

"_Okay. I was going to tell you to apologize anyway._" My mom said, hesitating. "_Hurry home...okay? I need to talk to you._" She said, her voice filled with sadness. My stomach dropped. Why was she upset so suddenly?

"Alright mom." I said, hanging up the phone and jogging the rest of the distance to my house. On the way, I was stopped by a girl with teal hair and brown eyes who was smirking at me. "Thanks for a good time last night." She said. I blinked. What?

"Oh, no problem. Same to you?" I said, smiling confused at her. She giggled into the palm of her hand and waved. "See you."

Who the hell was that? Maybe Sam would know….not that I'm going to ask her.

I continued home and opened the door sharply, wincing when it banged against the wall. "Danny?" My mom called from the kitchen.

"Hold on mom, I'm going to shower real quick!" I called back, flinching a bit at how loud my voice was before running up the stairs and tripping into the bathroom.

My phone vibrated in my pocket as I started the shower. I could smell the alcohol on me it was so bad.

_Tuck [rec] hows that hangover bro? you were so out of it._

_Tuck [sent] like you wouldn't belieev_

_Tuck [rec] believe*_

_Tuck [sent] my head hurts so bad that im just going to forget you did that._

_Tuck [rec] (;_

I rolled my eyes because why is he suddenly texting me? He didn't text me at all two days ago. 'Too busy with studying' my ass. I stripped out of my clothes and bandages and stepped into the shower, letting the water run over my body. It was soothing. I had no new cuts, so the shower didn't hurt that bad. The shower was warm and relieved the pain of my headache a bit. I stretched my sore muscles (noticing a hickey on my collarbone oh my god) and finally got out of the shower. I felt less gross and more like a human again, instead of a walking corpse. No pun intended. I rewrapped my wrists and dried my hair, while putting on my black sweatpants and maroon hoodie and jogging back downstairs, my hair dripping into my eyes.

"Danny...can you explain to why I found blood on your sheets when I went to wash them?" My mom said quietly.

_Oh no...think Fenton think!_

"I got a nosebleed in the middle of the night and forgot to clean it up. I'm sorry mom."

_Nice. _

"Oh thank god. I thought you were...ya know…" She smiled sheepishly. I laughed and shook my head. Wow, she almost hit the nail right on the head, but thankfully years of lying to her come in handy.

"Are you and Tucker still hanging out?" She asked, plopping some eggs in front of me, which I thankfully dug into. They weren't glowing, so they had to be at least edible.

"I don't know. Probably not, he has a test he needs to study for." I explained, with my mouth full. "Don't talk with your mouth full." My mom scolded. I smiled sheepishly.

"I might go out tonight, maybe. If I find something to do." I said, swallowing my eggs around the words. My mom raised her eyebrow. "Since when do you actually hang out outside of the house without Tucker or Sam?" She asked. I shrugged.

"Since they started ditching me I guess."

"Oh." She said awkwardly. I finished my eggs and got up to take my plate to the sink when my phone started ringing.

"Who is Frank Smith?" My mom asked, looking over to my phone. I panicked. "Uh, someone from school. He had the party last night." I explained quietly. She pressed her lips together and nodded. "Well he's calling you. I'm going to call your sister. She left for college this morning, but you weren't here to send her off." My mom scolded throwing me my phone. I stuck my tongue out at her playfully before pressing the accept button.

"_Aye man! It was great to have you at my party last night. You were pretty rad to hang out with. I was wondering if you wanna hang out with me and my friend Stella today._" Frank's happy voice filled my ear.

"Why not dude? Who's Stella?" I asked.

"_Oh, Stella Hoover. She is my best friend. She goes to school with us._" Frank explained. I nodded. Yeah, I knew Stella. Stella Hoover was a girl with long blonde hair with black on the bottom and wore mostly flannel and leggings.

"_Well...meet us in the park. I'm sure you will like what we have planned._" Frank's mischievous voice filled the phone. I snorted.

"Whatever dude." I hung up the phone and waved to my mom before walking up to my room to put some black skinny jeans and a red flannel. I don't know okay? Stella likes flannel! I shoved my feet back into my sneakers and walked out the door, signalling to my mom I'd be gone the rest of the day.

In the distance, I saw Sam and Tucker heading towards the house, so I quickly ran around the corner and ran towards the park, away from their gaze and away from their lies.

I set a quick pace to the park before my phone vibrated.

_6078893456 [rec] hi its stella (: i was just lettin you kno tht we are near the trees. the place where you cant see throu the treees?_

_6078893456 [sent] thanks stella._

I sighed. I don't know why I'm starting to hang out with these people, but all I know is that they have the means necessary to forget all of my problems.

When I got to the park, there were children everywhere. They were playing with kites, pets, and eating ice-cream. I kinda felt bad, because I know one drug that Frank Smith does on Saturday afternoons and I had no qualms about doing it either.

I went in between the trees where Stella and Frank were sitting with bags around them. "Hey D! You ready?" Frank smirked, rubbing his palms together. I smiled. "Why not?"

"Since when are you a bad kid?" Stella smirked. I shrugged. "Since yesterday." 

Frank smirked. "Danny here went to my party last night and got in close with Tina Silvers."

"Does she have teal hair?" I questioned. Frank nodded. "I saw her on the street today and didn't even know her."

Frank laughed before opening the bag. "You ready to party, Fenton?" He smirked.

I nodded. "Yep." I took a deep breath and brought the paper to my lips and lit it.

…

If I thought being _drunk_ was cool, being high was _better_. Stella had her head in my lap, giggling at the squirrel that was racing around in the sky. I watched it with her, ooing when it did a triple backflip.

"Wow…" We whispered in unison. Frank was giggling upside down in a tree near by.

Suddenly, a cold chill raced up my spine, signalling _danger!_ I gasped. "Stellaaa! I have to gooo!" I drawled. Stella lifted her head up and plopped it into the grass. "Hurry baack! I already miss my pilloow!" She pouted. I giggled, rubbing her face fondly. "I'll be back."

I quickly went into the trees. "Ghosting go!" I shouted, giggling as I did.

"Weeee!" I said soaring into the air. "Whelp!" A mean voice said behind me. "Ayeeeeee." I drawled. The metal man looked at me in confusion.

"Whaaatttt bruh?" I giggled. "Are you on drugs?" He asked, suspicion on his face. "Yes sir I am!" I raised my hand in the air. "Ok...? I'm just gonna...leave? It's not fair to fight you like this." The metal man said.

"Why fight? Make love not war-waaaa!" I screeched as I suddenly lost altitude. "Okay. Goodbye...?"

"Bye metal dude!" I called before heading back to Stella and Frank. Stella was still waiting for me to get back, so I turned back into human form. "Hi Stellaaaa." I drawled out again. She smiled. "Hey Danny boy." She whispered before closing her eyes and dozing. I decided to follow her lead, because she's a pretty girl.

...

"Wake up you two!" Frank's voice made me shoot up with Stella and scream with her.

"Frank!" She snapped. He just put his hands up in surrender. "I'm starving..." I suddenly said.

"Let's go to the Nasty Burger. They always come through when you have a case of the munchies." Frank smirked.

I groggily groaned back before accepting his hand to pull myself up. I turned around to pull up Stella and took in her appearance. Her eyes were rimmed with red and she was glaring at the ground. Her usually pristine hair was all messed up, but somehow she was still beautiful.

"You're beautiful." I blurted before smacking myself on my forehead. She giggled. "Why thank you." She smiled, taking my hand and standing up. She stumbled, tripping over her feet and into my arms.

She blushed heavily as I grabbed her waist to catch her. "Uh...that always happens after I'm high..." She said sheepishly, making no move to stand up. I felt my face heat up and smiled warmly at her. "It's cool. I'm not so graceful either." I said. Stella put a (adorable oh my god) pout on her face and stood.

"At least I'm not as clumsy as you." She smirked. I smirked back. "Soon enough though."

She glared. "In your dreams Fenton." She said, shoving my shoulder with her shoulder. I smiled. We walked to the Nasty Burger in silence. It was around a 3 minute walk from the park to there.

People on the sidewalks were giving us dirty looks, as if they knew what we had been doing.

"Mayor Masters, I demand that you do something about those teenagers smoking weed in the park!" A middle aged woman bellowed to Vlad. I winced and hid my face in my hair.

"Well I can't do anything unless I have proof and names, Mrs. Miller." Vlad said, obviously wanting her to leave. I snickered. Stella gave me a weird look before I whispered in her ear "That's my 'uncle'." She grinned warmly and nodded.

"Well all I know is I saw Stella Hoover and Danny Fenton at the back of the park and they didn't look sober." Mrs. Miller huffed.

"Did you say Danny Fenton?" Vlads eyebrows raised to his hairline.

"Time to leave Stella, time to leave." I said, grabbing her hand and pulling her to the other side of the street, away from Vlad and Mrs. Miller.

"He was with them too! Frank Smith!" Mrs. Miller suddenly yelled, and I knew we lost Frank.

"Oops..." Me and Stella face palmed at the same time before grinning at each other. "I guess it's just us?" I said, going to let go of her hand.

"Yeah..." She grinned, taking it back in hers. I blushed, rubbing the back of my neck as we walked in silence the rest of the way to the Nasty Burger.

I immediately recognized my sisters car in the parking lot and groaned. If Jazz is here, Sam and Tuck got to be too.

"What's wrong?" Stella asked, squeezing my hand to get my attention. "My sister is here and that means that my so called 'friends' aren't far behind." I mumbled.

"Then we'll ignore them, and if you see one of them, I'll kiss you." She winked. "What if I just want you to kiss me?" I smirked back, snaking my arms around her waist.

"I'd say dream on." She smiled before untangling my arms from around her and jogging to the door. I giggled at her antics before following behind her. Sam, Jazz, and Tucker were sitting in the back booth, glaring at Stella. They hadn't noticed me come in right after her either. Tucker finally noticed me when I went to sit next to Stella. Sam's jaw had dropped as soon as I did.

"They are acting you robbed a bank." Stella snickered to herself.

"When I hang out with anyone but them, it's like I did..." I whispered back.

"I'm gonna grab food. What do you want?" She asked getting up. "Surprise me." I winked. She giggled into her hand. "You got it Danny boy." She smirked.

As soon as she walked away, Tucker was immediately at the table. "Stella Hoover?" He grinned. I smirked back, nodding.

"Dude! She won't even talk at school! How did you even get with her?" He asked. My face paled. I can't tell him Frank introduced us, because then he'll tell Sam. "You know, saw her at the park." I swallowed thickly around the worlds. He nodded. "Cool, cool. Sam doesn't approve, but when does she? I'm gonna go, cause Stella's coming back. See you later." Tucker winked before jogging away from the table. Stella had an eyebrow raised as she came back with the tray, piled high with food.

"Asking how I got with you." I chuckled, clearing my throat.

"Sam's been glaring at me since we've got here, so I'm guessing she doesn't approve of your date choices?" Stella smirked, sitting down at the booth right next to me. Like, right next to me. Like, there is visibly no space between me and her.

"Never has." I chuckled. Stella nodded. We dug into our meals, falling silent for a little bit. Stella had finished her fries when Sam came over.

"Can I talk to you?" She hissed.

"Uh..." I said, rubbing the back of my neck in embarrassment. "Now is probably not the best time..." I trailed off.

"Well, you better make it a good time!" Her firm fingers clasping around my arm tightly. Stella grabbed my other arm. "Sam, isn't it rude to interrupt your friends dates?" Stella said, her voice sounding like she was disciplining Sam's.

"Well, it's a good thing Danny isn't on a date. Right?" She directed at me. I shrugged before Stella grabbed my shoulders and put my lips to hers forcefully. I immediately kissed back, and I could feel waves of anger coming from Sam.

"_Daniel!_" She snapped, but I kept kissing Stella, cause she tasted nice and why not? Sam stomped her foot in frustration, and I assume left, because I heard the door open and shut loudly, two other pairs of footsteps rushing to catch up. Stella pulled away with a faint blush and a smirk.

"Not bad, Fenton. We are going to have to make doing that a usual thing." She blushed, giving me a thumbs up. "How about you come home with me after this." I said, resting my forehead on hers.

"Why not? You're a pretty chill dude." She grinned, and then turned to finish her meal. I did the same because I wanted to get out of here as soon as possible.


	3. Chapter 3

Stella and I ran back to my house after the Nasty Burger. She was gripping my hand tight, a carefree smile on her face. I knew my parents would be home, but they didn't usually bother me when I had girls over (not that I've had many girlfriends in the past). Jazz's car wasn't home yet, so that was a good sign. I opened the door and my mom was sitting on the couch with my dad.

"Hey guys." I greeted, going to pull Stella up the stairs.

"Hey Danny...who's that?" My mom asked, raising her eyebrow.

"This is Stella. We are just hanging out. So. Bye." I waved before pulling Stella a bit roughly up the stairs.

Her lips immediately attached to mine as soon as she entered my room. "That was adorable." She muttered against my mouth. "Shut up." I mumbled back, making her jump so her legs would go around my waist. I leaned against the wall and just let her attack my mouth for a while.

"Hey Danny would you-" Jazz started as she walked into the room. Stella and I jumped apart quickly and blushed at her. "Heyy Jazz…." I said awkwardly.

Jazz just raised an eyebrow.

"Hey, I thought you left this morning?" I asked, raising my own eyebrow. "Oh, yeah, Sam needed me for something, so I stayed an extra day." Jazz said awkwardly.

I looked down. "Oh." An awkward silence fell upon us as I felt Stella grab my hand.

"Are you doing anything tonight?" Jazz asked. "Sam and Tucker want to have a movie night here."

"Actually, Danny is going to a party with me." Stella jumped.

_Thank god for Stella Hoover. _I thought to myself, a small smile on my face. "That's like, the 3rd time this weekend that he's went out with you." Jazz added, trying to get me to change my mind.

"Sorry Jazz...maybe next time." I said sheepishly. Stella squeezed my hand tighter and let go. "Where is your bathroom?" She asked. I pointed down the hallway, and Stella exited the room, Jazz glaring my direction.

"I don't know what the hell you've been up to lately, but it has to stop. You are watching movies tonight with me, Tucker, and Sam. I don't care what is wrong with you, but you gotta be there tonight. No exceptions." Jazz hissed before exiting the room. I groaned and rolled my eyes.

Stella came back in moments later. "Why is she making you watch movies with the friends that ditched you?" Stella asked, laying down next to me on the bed. I shrugged. "I have no clue." I mumbled.

Stella sighed, and then straddled my waist. "I wanna learn all about you, Danny Fenton." She whispered in my ear. My hands came to rest on the sides of her thighs and I smirked. "Not much to know, really."

"Favorite color?"

"Red."

"Favorite band?"

"All Time Low."

"Favorite singer?"

"...I don't know..? Bruno Mars?" I raised my eyebrow. "Stella, what's the point?"

"I told you! I want to know every last detail about you." Stella said, nipping at my earlobe. "I know that we've only known each other a day and suddenly we are all over each other, but I like to learn about the other while I take their clothes off." Stella giggled. I chuckled lightly.

"_DANNY!_ Sam and Tucker will literally be here in 30 minutes. Say _goodbye _to Stella!" Jazz yelled, before my door closed gently and I heard my parents scolding her. Stella giggled and attached her lips to my neck, her hands running up my shirt.

"I'm fine with this." I breathed heavily, running my hands up her sides and into her hair.

…

"Well, the friends are probably here, so I'm going to go." Stella said, wiping her mouth and pulling back on her shirt. "That was fun, we should do it again sometime." I smirked, putting back on my own shirt and snaking my hands around her waist.

"As long as I get to know more about you." She whispered seductively in my ear. I rolled my eyes and attached my lips to hers, savoring the flavor of her lips before I walked her down the stairs and to the door. Sam and Tucker were sitting on the couch, choosing a movie.

"I'll be right there Jazz." I called before walking Stella out the door and standing on the porch with her.

"What time does the party start?" I asked. Stella took out her phone and scrolled through it. "Ten. Why?"

"Be here at 9:50. I'll ditch them, and go with you." I smirked, putting a piece of hair behind her ear. She grinned widely. "Really?!" She squealed, jumping into my arms.

"I wasn't going to go without you." She said sheepishly. I grinned. "Thanks." I blushed.

"Anytime, Fenton. Can't wait to learn more about you." She winked and walked away. "See you later!" She called, waving her hand in the air and walking away from my house. I watched her walk away until she was out of sight before finally sighing and walking back indoors. "Thank you for not going to that party, little brother. I appreciate it." Jazz put her hand on my shoulder. I shrugged it off.

"Whatever." I hissed before sitting next to Tucker, who held out his hand for a high five which I gladly gave. "You get you some dude." He winked.

"Trust me, I will." I smirked back.

Sam rolled her eyes and put in _Big Hero 6_, plopping back on the couch with Tucker and I. 30 minutes into the movie, my phone vibrated.

_Stella(; [rec] hey. what movie you guys watching?_

_Stella(; [sent] bh6. rlly good. cant wait to leave tho. sams giving me dirty looks._

_Stella(; [rec] shes probably mad i got with you first (;_

_Stella(; [sent] doubt it :p_

_Stella(; [rec] brightside: you get to see me in twenty minutes (;_

_Stella(; [sent] cant wait lol (;_

I closed my phone when I saw Jazz trying to look over my shoulder and stomached the last twenty minutes of the movie before standing up quickly. "Hey, Ghost. Be back. Probably." I lied before sprinting into the bathroom and hopping out of the window, falling on my butt.

"Smooth." Stella said from behind me.

"I told you, I'm not the most graceful." I smirked, lacing her fingers with mine. She grinned. "Obviously not."

"Oh, haha. Where is this party, anyway?" I asked, falling into step with her.

"Oh, Dash Baxter's house. Frank and I always get invited because free booze. I always bring a +1. You are my +1 tonight. Be grateful." She winked. I put my hands over my heart and fake-swooned. "Oh my gosh, Stella, I'm honored."

She slapped me with the back of her hand, a funny look on her face, before she took my hand again, grinning.

When we got to the party, Dash almost didn't let me in, but Stella made it clear that I was with her, and that she'd take all the alcohol with her if I wasn't allowed in.

The A-listers gave us double glances when they saw our hands tangled together (and me holding alcohol in my hand with a pretty girl at my side might make people do some double takes too). I was drinking out of my red plastic cup up against the wall, my world already going a little fuzzy. I enjoyed forgetting everything with each sip I took. My phone was basically raping my back pocket, but I didn't check it. I already knew who was calling, and I didn't want to answer.

I just wanted to forget.

…

I woke up in a ditch. Not even kidding. My shirt was gone, Stella was next to me, and we were covered in dirt. There was a purple hickey on my chest and Stella's lips were bruised and swollen. My head was pounding with the force of my hangover, and I just knew my parents were going to kill me.

Stella groaned next to me and yawned. "Hey...Why are we in a ditch?" She asked, confused and groggy. I shrugged my shoulders and rubbed my temples. "I have no clue."

"Great. I'm gonna head home. Thanks. I look forward to seeing you at school." She said, kissing me gently on the lips and handing me a dirty covered shirt from under her. She dusted herself off and jogged towards, what I assumed was, her house. I watched her go and sighed, stretching and popping all of my cramped muscles and joints. I checked my phone and it was blown up.

_Sammy [rec] wow. real mature. ditching us to hang out with stella._

_Sammy [rec] are you okay? _

_Sammy [rec] omg are you dead?_

_Sammy [rec] pls answer danny_

_Sister Jazz [rec] danny?_

_Sister Jazz [rec] if you are dead in a ditch somewhere I s2g_

_Sister Jazz [rec] pls be okay_

_Tuck [rec] idk what jazz and sam are worried abt. you should be fine...right?_

_Tuck [rec] dude this isn't funny. last time you at least drunk called us._

_Tuck [rec] this has gone too far dude. nxt time you need help, dont call me sam OR jazz. we r done with you._

_Sammy [rec] if you are dead, i don't care anymore...well i do...but you probably aren't dead._

_Sister Jazz [rec] i hope you are okay, and if you are, ill never forgive you._

My face paled as I saw those last few messages. My lifelines were done with me? They couldn't be done with me. I need them.

I know that I've been ditching them, but only because they've been ditching me! For grades!

I started hyperventilating and transformed quickly and rushed home, tears streaming down my face. My breathing was going haywire and my vision was darkening around the edges. I needed something. I needed an escape.

I don't care what anymore.

I don't care about _me _anymore.

I don't care about _anything anymore_.

I rushed into my room, transforming back and rummaging loudly through my drawers, finally finding my razors and rushing into the bathroom, starting the shower.

I got in and brought the blade to my scarred wrist, pressing down hard and letting the blood flow from it. I knew that it was deep but I didn't care. I made more cuts, my knees gave out on me and I fell to the ground. I let the blade fall out of my fingertips as my vision went black.

Everything was peaceful.

…

The water was cold and the tiles were red when I woke up. I raised my head gently and took a deep breath when the world started spinning.

I didn't feel anything.

That was the scariest thing.

I know for a fact that I almost died today. My friends are gone and so is my sister and I have no one. No one but Stella.

I've known Stella for two days and she's already been there more than my friends who ditch me to study for tests. I closed my eyes and rested my head against the floor. My wrists were still oozing blood and it wasn't stopping. I probably need stitches.

Sam's not there to give me stitches anymore...

My eyes burned with unshed tears as I reminded myself that my friends aren't going to be there to cover for me anymore. As soon as I thought I was going to be okay, there was a knock on the door. The shower water was making me shiver and I just muttered a meek "Yeah?"

"Danny? It's me. Stella?" Stella's voice rang through the door. "Can I come in?"

I thought about telling her to go away, to leave me alone. I thought about pushing her away like I did Sam and Tucker. But I didn't. I just muttered a weak "sure." and let her come in.

I could hear her gasp when she noticed the bandages and probably the blood on the floor.

"Danny?" She gasped, throwing open the shower curtain. I curled in on myself, hiding. I rested my head on my knees and heard her shut the water off. "Oh my god." Her voice was muffled, like her hand was over her mouth. I sniffed slightly and felt her pull me into her arms. She grabbed my arm and looked at it. Her eyes were watering and her eyeliner was smudging.

"You need stitches..." She whispered. "I'm going to grab you some clothes okay? Then we are going to get you stitches..." She sniffed, wiping her eyes and throwing me a towel. I nodded, too weak to protest. Stella would probably not let me say no, anyway.

I wrapped the towel around my waist and put on the clothes Stella threw at me when she got back. She stayed close, helping me put on the short sleeved shirt.

"Should we wrap them?" She asked. I shrugged. "Probably..."

"Danny...why?" She asked, grabbing the roll of white bandages on the bathroom counter. "I want to _feel _something again, Stella." I muttered. She pressed her lips together, focusing intently on my arms and wrapping them.

"...I'm going to help you get better. You gotta take it easy with the partying too. We are taking a break, you and I." She said sadly. I nodded. "Sam and Tucker aren't my friends anymore." I whispered.

"Yeah...Jazz told me. She told me to be here today, to be there for you." She said. She finished wrapping my arms and looked me in the eyes. Her forest green ones were sad and red. She looked like she was going to break down any second. She gripped my shoulders tight and brought her lips to mine forcefully.

"You could've died." She mumbled, resting her forehead against my own.

"I didn't."

"I just got you Fenton, I'm not letting you go that easily." She smiled. I smiled, weakly, back.

"Let's go to the hospital." She finally sighed, noticing that the blood was already seeping through the bandages. "I'm going to call Jazz as well..." Stella said, leaning back and biting her lip.

"Since when do you guys get along?" I asked, closing my eyes.

"Since Sam and Tucker ditched you. I'm all you got bud." She said gently.

"I want my sister..." I said. Stella nodded. "I know. I know, honey. Come on." She pulled me up gently and grabbed a fleece jacket to put on me. I let her, because I couldn't do anything anyway.

She led me out the door where people were staring at us. Probably thought something was wrong with me. Well there was, but I couldn't feel it anyway. Stella looked to me to see if I could walk without leaning most of my weight on her. I tried, and was glad to see that I could. We walked to the local hospital. I could feel the blood rushing faster from my wrists, but didn't say anything.

I thought I saw Mrs. Manson's car in the parking lot, but I just shook my head and let my eyes fall closed. Everything was spinning. "Shit! Danny?" Stella shook my shoulder, and I felt the cold hard ground greet my back.

"Shit shit shit. Danny, we are too close." Stella snapped. "Is he okay?" I heard Sam's lovely mothers voice.

"No! He...goddammit, he's an idiot." Stella said, tears running down her face. I just watched weakly.

"..is that Danny Fenton?" Pamela asked gently. "Yeah..." Stella said weakly.

"Did he...? Does he? You know..." Pamela asked. Stella nodded. "Apparently."

"I'm going to help you, okay?" Pamela said. Stella looked up at her with wide eyes. "Thank you so much, ma'am!" Stella thanked, sobbing a bit.

"No problem, come on Daniel." Pamela pulled me up, my head was heavy. My wrists were burning, not with the bliss I've come to enjoy. They were actually hurting.

"Hurts." I mumbled. Pamela nodded. "I know. Probably shouldn't hurt yourself."

"Want to feel something." I muttered. Pamela looked to me with wide eyes and nodded.

"Okay."

They got me into the hospital and into a wheelchair but I was already out like a light.

...

When I came to, Stella was sitting right next to my bed, typing quickly at her phone. "Hey." I rasped.

Stella jumped so quickly, she dropped her phone. "Danny!" She smiled warmly, standing up to kiss me on the forehead.

"Hi." I said again. She sighed a breath of relief and shook her head. "You lost a lot of blood. Apparently you aren't supposed to even be alive." She glared.

I smiled sheepishly. My throat was dry and it hurt to breathe. "I'm sorry, Stella." I said.

She sighed. "It doesn't matter. What matters is that you are ok." She said, kissing me gently on the lips, threading her hands in my hair. My hands came up to rest on her back when the doctor came in.

"Oh, he's awake." The doctor chuckled. We parted slowly, blushing but not at all sorry.

"Ms. Hoover, Mr. Fenton has another visitor." He said. Stella pressed her lips together and nodded. "I'll be back." She said, rubbing my shoulder gently. I nodded, watching her leave.

The person that came in, I wasn't expecting.

Sam was standing in the doorway, tears running down her face, her make up ruined. Her hair was in a ponytail, messy, and she was wearing loose sweatpants and a black t-shirt with black converse.

"I'm so sorry." She choked out. I smiled weakly and shrugged. "It was more Tucker than you..." I said.

"I'm so sorry." She said, finally crossing the threshold into the room. She was crying harder than I'd ever seen her. I'd never seen her cry before, so.

"It's okay, Sammy..." I whispered. She threw her arms around my neck and started sobbing.

"I thought I was going to lose you without saying I was sorry." She cried in my arms.

"Sam it's okay." I whispered, stroking her hair gently.

"No it's not. I'm not done with you Danny, I'll never be done with you. I'll always be right here. Me and...Stella. We'll be here." She sighed when she said Stella.

"Okay...Tucker?" I asked hopefully.

"He didn't even answer the phone..." Stella said from the doorway.

"Who all knows?" I asked, my throat getting tighter.

"My mom, me, Stella, you, and the doctor." Sam said, sitting up and stroking my hair out of my face.

"No one else?" I gulped. Sam shook her head. "No one...the doctor wanted to send you to a mental hospital, but my mom got him to say otherwise. You have to stay here until tomorrow so there are no complications." Sam explained quietly. I groaned, throwing my head back against the pillow.

"I know..." Sam said, looking more awkward than usual. I knew it was because of mine and Stella's relationship, but I didn't care. Stella was there when she wasn't.

"Thank you." I whispered. Sam looked up, confused.

"For feeling bad when you and Tucker were watching that movie." I said, smiling gently.

She paled. "You saw that? I'm so sorry, I wanted to invite you but Tucker insisted-"

"Sam I understand." I said gently. She nodded. "I'm just...do you want me to stay?" Sam asked. I shrugged. "You can if you want. You are probably hungry, so maybe you could smuggle me a hamburger?" I asked, giving her puppy dog eyes.

"Yeah. I'll be back. Stella, do you want anything?" She asked politely, but I could see the mistrust in her eyes. "No I'm good. Thank you though." Stella said, catching my gaze.

"Okay...see you." Sam waved slightly before exiting the room and the hospital.

Stella smiled at me before getting up and sitting with me on the hospital bed. "I want to know more about you..." She whispered.

"Probably not the best place for that, Stell." I smirked. She slapped my chest. "You know what I mean, I like to know more about the people I like."

I blushed, my arm coming up to rub the back of my neck.

"You like me?" I smiled sheepishly. She just looked at me before placing her lips on mine.

"Yeah.." She said, licking her lips. "I really do."

...


	4. Chapter 4

I woke up Monday morning in a panic. My alarm didn't go off and I was 20 minutes behind. I threw on my Casper High sweatshirt and black jeans with red converse high tops and rushed to my bag. I didn't bother with my hair at all, just left it alone.

I ran all the way to the school (Sam probably walked with Tucker, but I don't blame her) not stopping. My wrists were throbbing angrily (like they did since I got out of the hospital) and I was wincing visibly.

When I arrived at the school, I was actually 30 minutes early. I looked at my watch and forgot it was daylight savings time Saturday and that we had gained an hour. I groaned and slapped myself on the forehead. I sat down on the steps and put my face in my hands.

"Hey Danny." A cheery voice said in my ear. I started smiling before I lifted my face up and looked to Stella, who was smirking behind a pair of large rimmed glasses.

"I forgot that we had gained an hour Saturday." I said sheepishly. She rolled her big green eyes before setting her backpack next to me and sitting down. I immediately put my arm around her shoulders as she draped her legs over mine. She was wearing a black t-shirt with a white cardigan and black leggings with white converse. Her hair was in a messy bun and winged eyeliner hid behind her glasses. I had forgotten she wore glasses during school.

"Why do you wear glasses at school?" I mumbled, resting my forehead against hers. She shrugged. "Don't feel like putting in contacts and I like them." She said, closing her eyes.

"I like 'em too." I smiled. We sat there for awhile until we had to move so that people could get into the school. I decided to follow Stella to her locker. She took out a big advanced science book and a couple notebooks and a pen and put the rest of her backpack in her locker. I grabbed her advanced science book from her hands and smirked at her.

She rolled her eyes and grabbed my hand, a large smile still on her face. We were getting weird looks from other people. At first I thought it was because I had been in the hospital, but no I realized it was because I was holding _Stella Hoover's _hand.

"People are staring at us." I whispered to her, getting more looks when I did. She kept grinning and pushed me back against the locker.

"Then let's give 'em something to stare." She winked, forcefully pressing her lips to mine. She threaded her fingers into my hair while I rested one of my hands on her waist. Obviously, I don't mind being dominated when we are in public.

"Alright." She breathed, pulling away quickly. She smirked. "Walk me to class, Danny boy."

I nodded, a weird _squeaking noise _escaping my throat. Dash's mouth was dropped open in surprise, as was everyone else's.

"Well, people, if you don't close your mouths, you are going to catch flies." Stella yelled, pulling me along. Everyone continued on with their business as soon as she did, and I snickered. She smiled at me, squeezing my hand.

We got to her class and she took her science book from me. "Are you okay?" She whispered. I nodded.

"Feel great, a little pain here and there but..." I smiled sheepishly, rubbing the back of my neck. She nodded, pursing her lips.

"Okay, text me if you feel bad okay? I'll leave class and try to make it to you." Stella smiled, kissing me on the cheek and walking into her class. I smiled, walking towards the gym for my class. Tucker was leaning against his locker, he and Sam in an intense conversation.

"Tucker please!" She pleaded.

"No Sam! He's doing it for attention!" Tucker hissed.

"Tucker! I don't think-"

"Sam! Trust me, he did that so you'd feel sorry for him! He's begging for attention." Tucker crossed his arms.

They obviously didn't see me, or they didn't know about my hyperactive hearing. I tried not to let it get to me, I really did. I wanted to just, I don't know, go home and sleep for the rest of my life. Death is peaceful. Life is harder.

Yes, I just quoted motherfucking Twilight.

"Hey son!" My dad bellowed. I jumped and put my hand over my heart, spinning around to face him. "Dad!" I screeched. Tucker and Sam spinned around to me, paling. Yeah, they didn't know I was there.

"Hey son! We are doing an assembly on ghosts!" My dad said excitedly.

"Oh!" I said awkwardly. As if my day couldn't get any worse, my ghost sense went off. I groaned, looking around. "Well, dad. I'm going to go to the bathroom…" I said awkwardly. Dad smiled. "Alright son! See you during the assembly!" He beamed widely. I gulped and gave a thumbs up, going into the bathroom and into a stall, transforming and flying into the air.

"Now where are you?" I wondered to myself, looking around the sky.

"You are like a buffet table, kid!" Spectra said from behind me. I spun around, firing an ectoblast to her, that she easily dodged by going invisible.

"No really, you may need _therapy_." Spectra's voice taunted voice.

"The only therapy I like is the song by All Time Low." I snarled. Spectra laughed.

"Kid, you are literally an all you can eat buffet for this ghost." She said, becoming visible. I glared. "What I do is none of your business." I growled. She tsked, pointing her finger at me.

"Now, Daniel, I maybe a horrible therapist, but at least I know when somethings wrong. Unlike your friends. Sam _still _doesn't know how bad you actually are." Spectra smirked, flying around, her tail wrapping around my ankle. In my time of thinking, she flung me into the gym where now knew a _Ghost Assembly run by my parents was being held._

I crashed through the ceiling (again, jeez) and landed on the ground. Spectra was starting to feed on my emotions, making me weaker. I tried to get up, but she was now in the room, pinning me down with her newfound energy.

"Look at you, you're a mess." Spectra concluded. I rolled my eyes. "Tell me something I don't know." I muttered. Spectra smiled. "See, you are responding. This therapy session is going great."

Spectra had absorbed enough energy to be able to take on a more human appearance. "See! That would've taken 3 teenagers on finals week to take on my human form. You are really down in the _dumps_." Spectra smiled, breathing in the air and most likely more of my emotions.

I looked around the room. Just my luck, everyone in the whole school was watching this, watching me get beat by an opponent that I could normally beat. My parents were sitting on the bleachers, hands twitching towards their guns, but wanting to watch the battle.

Tucker and Sam were sitting together, pale faced and watching. I tried to move my arms, but Spectra kicked me in the side. "Don't get up, I'm almost looking 24." She smirked.

I rolled my eyes. "At this rate, you're going to kill me." I mumbled. Spectra put her finger on her chin, as if she was contemplating it.

"Thats the point, sweetheart." She hissed. I weakly opened my eyes and shrugged. "Whatever." I mumbled again. She sighed.

"Now...what else can I do?" She looked around the room at the students sitting in the bleachers.

"Ladies and Gentleman!" She bellowed suddenly, making the 'audience' jump. "Behold your so called _hero_. Here he is, in the flesh, just like the little freak he is." Spectra sneered. I rolled my eyes, trying to focus my energy on getting up.

"He would've abandoned all hope a long time ago...yes, and I think I should help him, considering he attempted suicide this weekend." She smirked. I froze, the gasps ringing out among the crowd.

"But he's a ghost! He can't die again!" I heard my mother shout. "Ah, well, thats where you are wrong, because thats another topic I can speak about." Spectra said. I struggled harder, knowing where she was going with this.

"Now, I've asked him this question before. Is he a ghost who's trying to fit in with humans, or a creepy little boy with creepy little powers?" She smirked. I finally broke free of her hold, and blasted her in the back. "Spectra, you should probably stop lying to people." I said, trying to control the tremors in my voice. "Mhmm, keep telling them I'm lying. If I'm lying, show them your wrists." She snapped.

And in a way, I snapped.

Apparently, I have a lot of pent up anger that I've been keeping in. Everything I've felt in the past couple of months, gave me enough energy to growl in rage and fly at her, giving her everything I had left in me.

I flew her out of the gym of course, because I didn't want anyone else to see that. That would really hurt my image.

"Yeah, beat me up. Get it out of your system. Crumble underneath the pressure. It's only making me stronger." Spectra spat, throwing me into the ground. "Watch and learn, Mr. Phantom." She winked at me, flying back towards the gym. I got up, painfully may I add, and flew after her, where she had confronted my parents.

She winked before saying. "Your son. Check _his _wrists. Ask his little girlfriend what happened to him this weekend." I glared sharply at her and uncapped the thermos before my dad said, "My son wouldn't do that. If he even thought about it, I would be so disappointed in him." I froze up, before shaking my head and sucking her into the thermos. I flew in front of the crowd before bowing my head. "Nothing she said was true. _Nothing._" I muttered, before flying away from there. I needed an escape. But I _promised _Stella.

I promised her that I would not do that again.

But I really need to. Spectra didn't hurt me bad enough. I need to feel something.

The scariest part was the numbness. My automatic defense mechanism for hurting. My body didn't want to feel anything, but I _did_. I couldn't do this to myself. Not after this weekend, at least not today.

I can't let Spectra get to me.

But it seemed she already had.

…

I flew back into the school and stayed in the janitors closet for the rest of the assembly, which stretched until 3rd period. I heard the crowd start heading towards their classes and I honestly wanted to go home.

The doorknob started to wiggle and I turned intangible to not be seen.

"Sam I don't want you to hang out with him anymore!" Tucker spat. Sam angrily stomped into the closet. I held my breath as they did so they couldn't even think they hear me.

"Why not Tucker? Why leave him alone to suffer?" She hissed.

"Because I don't want to have to clean up his mess whenever he gives up!" Tucker yelled. Sam shushed him as my hand went over my mouth. My eyes started burning.

"What mess?" Sam demanded.

"You! It'll kill you when he finally just lets go. He's going to get worse and I don't want you to get hurt." Tucker said. Sam stopped glaring and stared.

"So you just give up on him?" Sam asked. Tucker nodded. "He's my best friend, but I've known for awhile that he's been getting bad, that's why I've separated you and I from him." Tucker revealed.

"Tucker!" Sam gasped. I didn't want to get upset but I couldn't help it. "Really Tucker?" I snapped, becoming visible. He glared. "Yes! You are going to destroy everyone who's close to you!" Tucker said, glaring.

I stormed out of the closet, stomping my feet. "Oh there you go again! Running away from your problems, like you always do!" Tucker yelled.

"Excuse me?" I spun around and faced him. We were in the middle of a crowded hallway after the assembly, everyone blinking in our direction. My parents stopped their conversation with Mr. Lancer and turned their heads towards the scene. Stella was shoving her way through the crowd.

"You heard me. You _want _pity." Tucker accused. I glared.

"No! That's the last thing I fucking want." I snapped back. Tucker rolled his eyes.

"Please. You've wanted attention ever since the accident!" Tucker yelled. We apparently had forgotten that we were in the _middle of a crowded hallway_.

"I know you secretly blame me and Sam for what happened to you, but you don't have to make us feel like shit every time something bad happens to you!" Tucker added, his voice still raised. Lancer was starting come out of shock and make his way towards us.

"At least I'm not a shitty friend." I growled. Tucker blinked.

"Why you little shit!" He flung himself at me punching me in the face. Gasps were heard all around. My eyes flashed green as I glared at him. He held my gaze. "Do it you little bitch! Punch me!" He yelled. I took a step forward and he visibly flinched. I leaned forward and hissed, "You aren't worth the effort."

Tucker blinked and glared. I started to walk out of the school. I knew my eyes were still green and angry but I couldn't hold it in anymore when he shouted down the hallway (full of people). "Your powers make you a _freak_!" He shouted. "Tucker!" Sam gasped.

I ran back towards him, knocking him to the ground. "Holy goddamn." Dash whispered, backing away from me punching Tucker in the face.

Tucker somehow happened to pin me to the floor, shoving my shoulders into the ground. "You don't even deny it!" He spat.

"You know what Tucker, Fuck you." I spat, punching him square in the jaw and getting up and walking away. "Danny don't walk away from me!" Tucker yelled. I turned around, not noticing the tears in my own eyes.

"Stay away from me." I sniffed. Tucker snapped out of his rage and panicked. "Danny-shit-I'm so sorry!"

"No your not." I shook my head. Tucker took a step forward. "Don't." I said, running away.

I needed to get away from there before I did something I might regret. Tucker was right. I am a freak. Everyone in the school knows something's wrong with me. My life is just going to get worse.

I'm never going to go to college, I'm never going to be an astronaut.

I'm never gonna get married. I'm never going to have children. I'm never going to live a happy normal life because of these stupid powers. They make me unique, but unique is not good. Unique is the worst thing I can be.

I want to be normal. I want to be a teenager. I want to go to parties and drive and not have to worry about everyone who is close to me.

I sat in the secret area of the park and just cried. I cried for hours and no one came after me. Not even Stella. Good, I needed some space.

Stella knows I'm a freak too. She knows and she probably won't talk to me again. Sam probably thinks I'm horrible for hitting Tucker. Tucker probably won't forgive me.

All of these what ifs made me cry harder. No one could hear me, but why should they care?

They don't care about Fenton. They only cared about Phantom.

...they wouldn't care if Fenton was _gone._

Why should they care anyway? Maybe Stella would be a little upset, and maybe my parents, but if I was gone, none of this bad stuff would happen to me. I wish Stella hadn't found me. I wish I was dead.

All I want is to die. If I were to stop breathing, I honestly wouldn't give two shits.

My ghost sense went off, and the air around me got colder. "Daniel." A voice said gently.

"Are you here to kill me?" I asked quietly, tears still streaming down my face. Footsteps came closer. "No, Great One." The big yeti said sadly. "I'm here to help." He added.

I shook my head. "The only help I need is for someone to put me six feet under." I said, my voice muffled under my hand as I tried to stop crying. "It's okay to cry, Great One." Frostbite said, pulling me up to my feet. "Frostbite…" I sighed.

"I don't care. You are taking a vacation." Frostbite said. I shook my head. "Will I never come back?" I asked.

"Great One snap out of it!" Frostbite pleaded. He sighed, looking into the sky. "I heard about what happened with Spectra and I was wondering if you needed assistance."

"Frostbite, I don't think you understand! Every time my life gets better, something happens that it gets worse." I sobbed. Frostbite patted my shoulders.

"I know Daniel, but if you need anyth-"

"No! What I need is to be alone...please." I said, curling in on myself. Frostbites hand was no longer on my back. "Of course, Great One." He said, sympathetically, before the air was no longer cold, and I didn't feel the electrical pull of a ghost.

I sighed. My parents probably know, and it's all Tucker and Sam's fault. Sam didn't stop him. She should have stopped him! I let tears fall more freely as the sun shone brightly on the park. Children who didn't have to be in school played around the trees, couples holding hands on benches. And here I was, hidden in the shadows...like the outcast I was.

Like the outcast no one would care would be gone.

And I would be gone soon.

…

_Sad chapter today guys :( thank you so much for reviewing. It really means to the writer when people really like her work._

_TheBoss3254 : thank you so much (:_

_ShadowDragon357: yeah its going to be a little while._

_Expergiscimini: Thank you! I'm glad you like them, and trust me theres going to be a lot of problems. Ghosts, self-loathing, addiction….(;_

_Remember Ember: I like Della. Stanny is fine, but it sounds like Stan? haha. Here is your more(;_

_I'll be back soon with Chapter 5, maybe a time skip? I haven't decided if the time skip will be in 5 or 6, probably six because stellas got to fix danny…._

_Alrighty. I'll talk to you later!_


	5. Chapter 5

It was hours later when I finally decided to get up and go home. I could tell that there were dried tears stains on my face. People were looking at me concerned and suspicious, but I didn't care. I'd be gone soon, hopefully.

When I got to my street, the Foleys family car was outside on the curb, and so was the Manson family limo. I didn't want to deal with this right now.

I couldn't _handle_ this right now.

I sighed and kept walking on shaky legs, my head turned down to the floor and my eyes watching where I stepped. I pressed my ear to the door and listened.

Muffled voices were talking in the living room.

"Tucker...apologize!"

"...Sam...too."

I was only catching bits and pieces of their conversation. I pressed my forehead against the door beside my palms and took deep breaths. In and out. In and out.

When I finally calmed down, I opened the door. "Danny? Oh my goodness." My mom rushed into the entryway, taking me into her arms. She brushed the tear tracks with her thumb before smiling. "Are you okay."

"Not really." I croaked, my throat sore and dry.

"Tucker and Sam are here..." Mom said, going to pull me into the living room. "I don't want to talk to them." I said. I turned to go upstairs when my mom caught my arm. "Danny..." she sighed. I shook my head.

"No."

My mom pulled me into the entrance of the living room and sat me down on the couch. I crossed my arms and turned my head away.

Soon my problems would be over.

My phone vibrated in my pocket.

_Stella [rec] I'm coming over. _

I smiled a little bit before turning off my phone. "Go on Tucker." I had pulled up my hood so they couldn't see my face, but I leered at him through my bangs. "Go on." Mrs. Foley pushed him forward. Tucker sighed, going to open his mouth.

"Don't apologize if you don't mean it." I snapped. "Actually don't apologize at all. I don't want to hear it." I said, getting up.

"Danny..."

"No Sam, I understand that your opinion is the same, and I don't want to talk to you."

"Danny, stop. Your being-"

I got up in Tucker's face, letting my eyes glow green. "Being what?" I growled. Tucker's eyes glowed with determination. "Over dramatic." He hissed, going to push me back when my dad came up and forced us apart.

"This is ridiculous! Daniel apologize."

"No. I won't. I'm done. With _everything_." I spat, glaring at Tucker before rushing to my room and slamming the door.

_Stella [sent] dont bother. i wont be here anyway._

I pressed my hands into my eyes and groaned, trying to not let myself cry. I'm Danny Phantom! Danny Phantom doesn't cry! Danny Phantom protects people…

Who I am I kidding? I'll never be the Danny Phantom people want me to be.

_Stella [rec] whats wrong baby?_

I took a deep breath, ignoring the knock on my door. I heard engines start and cars drive away. I watched them go. I watched two people who had been in my life since pre-school leave it. I collapsed onto my bed, my hands over my eyes. I ruin everything.

I ruined my own life by walking into that portal.

"Danny sweetie?" My mom called. I ignored her. I just wanted to be alone and wallowin my own self-pity.

"Danny...Stella's here." My dad called. I sighed. Stella was here sooner than I thought she'd be. My door opened and shut quietly as the one person I had left stood there.

"Hey…" She whispered, coming to sit down next to me. "...how are you feeling?" She said, clearing her throat. I shook my head and shrugged. "I feel nothing." I murmurred.

"Nothing?" She asked, her eyes sad. I nodded. "Just...numb. I should be mad, I should be so pissed but I can't be anything but numb. That's the scariest part." I whispered, closing my eyes. I felt Stella's lips on mine and opened them, she was smiling sadly at me.

"Look, do you wanna go out somewhere? Clear your head?" She asked. I nodded. "That would be good."

"Good, okay, because I got tickets to see _Ouija _tonight. You told me how much you liked scary movies. And...this may not be the best time but, My parents want to meet you?" Stella said awkwardly. I smiled. I smiled a real, almost genuine smile. "I'd love to. Anything to get away from here." I brought our held hands to my lips and kissed them gently.

Stella smirked. "Good, but I have to warn you, my mom is a bit over dramatic. She loves to cook, so she's making you dinner. You told me that your favorite food was Fettuccini Alfredo...right?" Stella asked again. I nodded.

"Good! Well, lets go to the park, walk around. Get some fresh air." Stella smirked and took me by the hand. "If you want...theres a party tonight." Stella sighed, like she didn't want to tell me. I nodded vigorously. "Where?"

"...Frank's. He got out of jail and is throwing a party for the special occasion." Stella rolled her eyes. "I told him about us. He just smirked and said, 'Well I was trying to set you guys up anyways.' I punched him." Stella chuckled. I laughed with her. I was starting to forget everything bad that was going on with me at the moment and was just caught up in _her_.

Stella, the one who saved my life even if I didn't want to be saved. Stella, who helps me forget everything. Stella, the one who is actually really smart and I would not mind learning more about her.

"...I'd probably be dead if I hadn't met you." I muttered. Stella turned her head sharply, smiling wide. "That's why I'm here! To make sure you don't do anything that could potentially do harm to you or others. I am your life preserver Mr. Fenton, and I'm not going anywhere for awhile." Stella smirked, standing and taking my hand. I rolled my eyes and stood up with her. Stella greeted my parents, saying goodbye and shoved me out the door.

"Danny?" My mom called last minute. "Yeah Mom?" I said, about to close the door. "I love you so much, and you can tell me anything. You know that, right?" My mom asked. I nodded. "Yeah of course. I tell you stuff that you need to know." I replied, closing the door and catching up with Stella.

What my mom needed to know about my life was absolutely nothing.

"The party is _only if _you still need to forget about what happened today. Even if we do go, you aren't touching a drop of alcohol or drugs. Do I make myself clear?" Stella suddenly said. I blinked and nodded, disappointment running through my veins. If I was going to go to this party, I had to go without Stella, if I was to drink myself into a stupor.

"Just letting you know, I don't have the best house, or neighborhood, but my parents are the best parents ever. They just don't make that much money and-"

"Woah, slow down. I don't care about that stuff, Stell." I said, gently putting my hands on her shoulder. She nodded. "Right. Yeah, you are just the first person, boyfriend, that I've had to introduce to my parents in a long time. You mean a lot to me, and my parents understand that. I just thought that you might be expecting, I don't know, mansions and the latest technology." Stella explained. I shook my head, pressing my lips onto hers.

"I have never cared about any of this. Money may not be a problem in my house at the moment, but it hasn't always been like that. I know what its like." I smiled. She nodded.

"Right, I'm just being stupid."She smiled. She took my hand and led me into the house.

"Mom? Dad?"

"Yeah Stella?"

"I want you to meet my boyfriend Danny!" Stella winked at me. I heard sprinting coming from upstairs and suddenly, a young woman and a young man were sitting there smiling at me.

Oh lord.

...

"Are you sure you don't want to go with me?" Stella asked sadly. "Yeah, my parents have been worried about me since the ghost told them that stuff, so I gotta get home." I lied awkwardly.

"Okay, babe. I'll see you later?" Stella asked. I nodded, catching her waist and putting my lips on hers. "Definitely." I said. I hoped that I didn't call her while I was drunk, because she is trusting me not to go to that party.

"Are you going to go to Frank's party tonight?" I asked her. She shook her head. "I never go to Frank's anything. He's a douche when he's drunk. I only hang out with him when we are at the park and he promises to bring someone else." She scoffed. I laughed lightly. Good, no need to worry about hiding at the party.

"I'll see you tomorrow Stella." I smiled, waving. She winked. "See you at school Fenton." She said, walking back inside of her house. I sighed and ran my fingers through my hair.

I felt bad for lying to her, but I lied to everyone all the time. Today was no exception.

I set my course for Frank Smith's house, texting him to let him know I was coming.

…

"I FEEL LIKE DANCING TONIGHT!" I sang loudly, the crowd around me singing along as well. I felt great, better than I had in years. I was dancing and singing, and Frank was _not _a douche to other drunk people when he was drunk.

My phone (I was told by Frankie that it was not a magical device sent by the aliens) was ringing in my pocket. I didn't really want to answer it, but I fished it out and looked at the contact name.

_Sam Manson is calling._

I answered it. "Hello?" I slurred. I heard her breathe a sigh of relief. "_Danny…_" She said gently, her voice sad.

"Why is everyone so sad all the time?" I slurred back, hearing her gasp on the phone. "_Are _you _sad, Danny_?" She asked. I nodded.

"_If you are nodding, I can't see you_." She sighed. I giggled. "Yeah, sometimes." I replied, my voice shaking.

"_Okay, I'm sending Tucker to get you. He's really sorry._" She added. I shook my head. "No Sam!" I snapped. "I don't want to be picked up. I don't want to be anything!" I said sharply before hanging up my phone and refilling my glass. I drank the liquid, hissing when it burned my throat.

Fuck my friends. 

…

I woke up in the park, my head pounding. My phone was on the ground two feet from me. I groaned and sat up, laying back down when my stomach protested sharply. I grabbed my phone. There was only one text.

_Sam Manson [rec] text me when you wake up and ill come get you. I won't yell or fuss, I'll just give you a ride home._

I sighed, thankful for that message, but somehow sad that it was the only one. I know Stella hadn't known where I was that night and we had only been together three days, but I had expected…

Never mind. It's better not to get attached.

I had no missed calls or voicemails, just that one text message from Sam. I was grateful, but sad.

_Sam Manson [sent] ok. park._

_Sam Manson [rec] I'm on my way._

I sighed, laying back down and closing my eyes. I wanted to talk to my friends. I wanted to talk to _Tucker _of all people. I miss the person I was a year ago.

What happened to that Danny Fenton? The one who was happy, who talked about what he was feeling?

_He was beaten to a pulp by ghost fights and bullies and everything in between._

I opened my eyes to reveal Sam walking towards me, her expression blank. "I won't tell Stella." She said, no emotion in her voice. I nodded. She didn't even help me up.

I stood and walked with her. Her car with a driver in the drivers seat was waiting at the curb. Even though we were a five minute walk from my house, I don't even think I could make it that far. "Thank you." I whispered. Sam ignored me.

She was mad.

"...Tell Tucker I'm sorry." I said, before getting in the car and shutting the door. Sam paused, a shocked expression her face. She quickly downed the emotion and got in the car. "Fenton Works, please." She told the driver. I held in my sadness until I exited the car.

Never in my life had I ever regretted anything so strongly.

...Two Weeks Later…

"Happy Birthday!" Stella greeted me at my door, her backpack around her shoulders and an envelope in her hands. I smiled, kissing her forehead. "Thanks, but you didn't have to get me anything." I said.

My life hadn't improved the last two weeks. It had gotten worse. Stella was with my 24/7 after she had found out about me being at the party from Frank. She didn't yell, but I could tell she was disappointed.

I had picked up cutting again, because there was just too much tension in my body. I wasn't telling Stella, and the air was getting colder so it wouldn't be noticeable.

"Of course I did!" She scoffed, shoving the envelope in my hands. I rolled my eyes but opened it.

"You got me tickets to the All Time Low concert?!" I exclaimed. I relished in the happy things in life whenever I was this sad. Stella nodded excitely, the bun at the top her head swaying in time.

"Thank you so much!" I beamed, taking her into my arms and holding her tight. "I figured that you could use a weekend, so I talked to your parents and after tonight, I'm taking you to Chicago so that we can see them! Then, maybe we can rent a hotel room and have some _alone time_." She winked. I blushed brightly, like I always did when Stella got suggestive.

She laughed. "Come on, birthday boy! School awaits." She said in a heroic voice before running down the sidewalk with me in tow.

We were laughing and being happy (I was acting, but at the same time I wasn't) when Tucker and Sam walked up to us, little gift boxes in their hands. I stopped abruptly, not having talked to either of them since the incident. They seemed embarrassed but held out the presents anyway. "Happy birthday." Sam whispered, before taking Tuckers arm and walking away. I blinked.

They hadn't said two words to me in two weeks, so I appreciated that they still gave me the birthday presents. I opened them. Sam had gotten me a black necklace with a D on it, which was really rad looking, and Tucker had given me a black hoodie with my insignia on it, the tag saying that it had been personalized by him. I smiled, not noticing that Tucker and Sam had been waiting to see my reaction from behind a pillar.

"That was sweet of them. Why did Tucker get you a Danny Phantom hoodie?" Stella inquired. I shrugged. "Just an insider." I winked. Stella rolled her eyes. "Come on!" She urged. "We are going to be late for school!" Stella said. I rolled my eyes.

Ever since Stella had gotten pretty much clean from drugs, my parents had opened her eyes to saying that college was literally only two years away. Stella had panicked and put more effort into school and, much to my dismay, made me put more effort as well. If my parents had even liked her already, they _loved _her now.

"Okay miss bossy." I said, but when she pulled me, a card fell out of the hoodie pocket, gaining my attention. I shoved it into my pocket and followed my girlfriend.

We departed at her class. I changed my schedule to harder classes now that ghost attacks were scarce (courtesy of Clockwork and the Observants, who wanted me to get well into school before the chance that I go evil). I had two classes with Sam and Tucker, which is awkward because I sit right next to Tucker.

I headed to my first period class that Sam and Tucker were in and took out the card.

_I don't to not be friends with you, but until you are open to talking about your feelings, I can't handle it._

_~Tucker and Sam_

I sighed. This basically just told me everything I already knew. Until I was open to therapy with Sam and Tucker, they couldn't emotionally handle being my friend. I understand, and I know that some day I'll be able to talk, be able to find the words, but for now, Stella was all I had.

I don't know what I'd do if I lost her.

I sat down at my desk and pulled out my notebook, reading over my notes on Chapter 17 before the test today. Sam and Tucker walked in, noticing my already there, and sighed, taking their seats behind me.

Lancer handed out the tests. I knew by the first question I was going to ace it, thanks to Stella and her studying tips.

I let my mind go blank with everything but the material during the class.

…

"Ready to go?" Stella smirked. I nodded, a big smile on my face. We loaded up into my new car that my parents had gotten me today (omg) and I got into the drivers side. "I love how you got your license the _day _you turned 16. I still haven't gotten mine." She pouted.

"That's because you didn't take drivers ed." I said, pulling out of the driveway and onto the road. The car was a black volvo. It wasn't new, but it still looked nice, and thats all I needed. My parents had surprised me _and _Stella when they had thrown me the keys. Today, I was happy and that was a big turn around.

Tucker and Sam had avoided me all day, but did give me surprised looks when I got a 100 on the Chemistry test (Tucker had gotten a 75 and Sam an 80).

I set my course for Chicago and hoped we made it there before the concert started. We had left school early so that we would have time to get there _and _be at the front of the line.

"How did you get the money for these tickets anyway?" I asked suddenly. Stella blushed and looked at me sheepishly. "I sold the rest of my weed at a party I was at." She mumbled.

"You were a drug dealer for the money?" I giggled. She glared. "Hey! I didn't use it anymore, and besides, anything to make you happy." She said, taking my hand in hers and rubbing my palm with her thumb. I smiled wide.

"My girlfriend the drug dealer." She hit me. I laughed, but focused on the road.

I could get used to it.

…

"That was so awesome!" I beamed, adrenaline running through my veins as I hit my steering wheel. Stella was laughing at me, but a smile was on her face to. She had enjoyed the concert just as much as me, even if she only memorized All Time Low's albums just so she could sing along with me.

"I'm glad you had fun. Pull into that motel." She said, and I did what I was told. She got out of the car and made her way to the front desk. She talked, fishing out money from her purse and handing it to the lady. The lady thanked her and Stella exited the building, waving me out of the car.

"What?" I asked. Stella winked at me, key in hand. "Lets go, birthday boy, I have one more present for you." She said, her eyes sparkling.

…

Stella was breathing hard, her hands clasped around my shoulders. "Woah." She breathed. I was resting my head on her chest and she was brushing my sweaty bangs from my forehead.

"Well, happy birthday to me." I said, looking at my wrists. Stella had kissed the scars that were there and there was now dark lipstick on the marks.

"Happy birthday to you. Just so you know, I only rented this room for five hours, so if you are going to sleep, I suggest you do it now." She smirked, knowing me well as my eyes shut.

"Whatever." I mumbled, but she just kept running her fingers through my hair, gently putting me to sleep.

…

When we had gotten home from the concert, my parents were happy to see we had made it safely. "Tucker and Sam had called while you were gone. If you want to call them back?" My mom smiled unsurely. I shook my head tiredly, Stella already asleep in my arms.

"I'm just gonna go to bed." I yawned. We had gotten home at 3 in the morning and my parents were tired as well.

"Okay, goodnight. I hope you had a good birthday." My mom smiled. I smiled back, looking down to Stella.

"One of the best." I said.

…

_Happier Chapter! :D_


	6. Chapter 6

...three weeks later…

I woke up in a cold sweat. That was my third nightmare this week. Stella stirred in bed next to me. I stopped breathing and waited for her to go back to sleep. When she eventually did, I got up out of bed and pulled on some clothes and went into the bathroom. The moon was high in the sky and it lit up Amity Park's landscape. All the street lights were off and the city was quiet. I splashed some water on my face and tried to slow my breathing.

My nightmares have consisted of Dan coming back. I don't know what they mean, but all I know is that I'm not in a stable condition to fight him. If these are foreshadowings from Clockwork...I hope that I'm ready.

I sat down on the cool tile floor, letting the coolness soak into my heated skin. I could tell I was getting sick. My immune system had always been kind of shitty. My stomach was all over the place and I was dizzy. I didn't know what to do, so I just rushed my aching body over to the toilet and hurled up everything I had eaten that day, and lately that wasn't much.

I heard my bed squeak and suddenly cool hands were pulling my hair away from the sick. "Shh." Stella said, rubbing my back calmly. I don't know how she dealt with me honestly. We had been together a month and I was already in love with her. Hell, I fell hard the first time I _saw _her.

"Shh, its okay." She whispered, kissing my temple. When I was done, I shakily flushed the toilet and Stella helped me to my feet, letting me lean on her as we walked back into my room.

"You aren't supposed to be sick during Fall Break silly!" She smiled, kissing my forehead. "I would kiss you if I didn't taste like vomit." I muttered. She giggled. "I'm going to get you some water and some mouthwash so you can." She winked, putting on a hoodie over her bra and boxers, leaving my room. I checked the time. 2 AM. Perfect.

"Oh, hello Mrs. Fenton." I heard Stella greet. My sickness made it hard for me to tune into what they were saying, and it was giving me a headache, so I just laid down on my bed and closed my eyes. Images from my dreams plagued my thoughts and I wish that I could call Tucker or Sam and tell them about it. Or at least tell them that I think Dan could be coming back.

Even so, they probably wouldn't pick up the phone this late at night.

I still really wanted to try.

"Okay babe, here you go." Stella said, walking into the room with a cup of water and mouthwash. I gurgled the mouthwash first before downing the bottle of water. Stella laughed at me, but took the used mouthwash and empty bottle out of my hands and exiting the room again. I smiled as I watched her leave.

"Okay, so. Are you going to be okay?" She asked. "Cause, we are leaving in the morning for Florida…." She reminded me. My parents had given me permission to go to Florida with Stella and her parents and we leave tomorrow. I sighed. "I'll be fine, I'm just going to sleep it off." I mumbled. Stella smiled.

"Okay, babe." She said, getting back into bed with me and wrapping her arms around my waist, putting her face in my neck.

Yes, I'm the little spoon. Nothing wrong with that.

...

When I woke up, I was feeling worse. Stella was frowning down at me, the back of her hand on my forehead. "You're not going, sweetie." She said. She was already dressed and ready, wearing shorts, a white tank top and black flip flops. Her hair was in a bun.

"No...I can go." I said, kicking off the covers and standing. As soon as I planted my feet on the ground, I was too lightheaded to stand up. "No, sweetheart you can't." Stella smiled sadly.

"It's fine, I'll see you soon...okay? Call me if you need anything." Stella said, kissing me on the forehead and hugging me tightly. I smiled into her neck. She pulled away smiling. "I'll see you when I get back. Text me if you need _anything_ okay?" Stella warned. I knew what she meant by anything, so I nodded, not looking forward to my Fall Break alone.

"Bye honey." Stella smiled, before exiting my room. I fell back onto my bed and sighed. What was I going to do without Stella here? I don't have anymore friends. Unless I want to talk about _everything_ with Tucker and Sam, I can't hang out with them. I miss them. So much.

It was about an hour after Stella left that I gained an appetite. "Danny? Sweetie? I made you some chicken noodle soup!" My mom called. I prepared myself for the dizziness as I stood up. There was none surprisingly. I felt much better than I had when Stella left. "Hey mom." I rasped, my throat sore.

"I'm so sorry you couldn't go on vacation with Stella…" My mom hugged me, kissing my cheek. I smiled. "It's fine. I'll just miss her a lot." I shrugged. My mom smirked. "Do you love her?"

I choked on a noodle.

"Whaat? What gives you that idea?" I coughed. "The way you look at her, like she saved your life." My mom waved off the question. I blushed, shrugging. "I know she doesn't love me back, or at least not yet…" I said.

Mom laughed. "Yeah, she's a teenage girl. She's a sweetheart, and she cares for you a lot."

I nodded. That I knew for fact. I finished my soup and got up, stretching my muscles. "I'm going to go for a walk...maybe get some orange juice." I said. It hurt to talk, but I knew my mom wouldn't let me leave without explaining myself. "Okay. Hurry back." My mom said hesitantly. I didn't usually leave the house nowadays, because Stella was always at mine, or we were having dinner with her family.

I went up to my room first, pulling on some jeans and a black sweatshirt and my navy blue converse. I grabbed my wallet with my _just-in-case _cash and headed out into the cold October weather. I couldn't wait until Halloween, then Tucker, Sam, and I could have our annual…

Thats right. No annual Halloween, Scary Movie Marathon this year. No thanksgiving dinner at Tuck's house after mine.

No Christmas's with Tucker, or Hanukkah's with Sam. I leaned against a light post and steadied my breathing. I felt like I was going to throw up suddenly. I hadn't thought about Tucker and Sam like that in a while, so now that I did...it was eating me up on the inside.

I shouldn't be this afraid to talk to them about how I'm feeling, but I'm afraid that I'm going to make them feel guilty.

How do I tell them that I don't feel like being alive anymore or that I want to give up? How do I tell them that I don't see myself living until I'm thirty or having kids or getting married?

In five years, I see myself six feet under the ground, finally away from all the troubles that I call my life.

"Hey look, its fenturd! Where's your little girlfriend, Fenton?" Dash sneered behind me. I froze. "On vacation? Why?" I answered nonchalantly.

"Well, now that you don't have the dynamic duo, and you don't have your precious little Stella to protect you...I can make up for a months worth of wailing." Dash smirked, grabbing me by my hair and dragging me into the alley.

"Dash, dude! Come on, let go!" I coughed. Dash scoffed. "As if."

Dash kicked me in the stomach, making me almost lose my lunch. I coughed harder, curling into the fetal position. "Come on, Fenton. You are so pathetic!" Dash sneered, kicking me in my ribs. I swore I felt something crack.

He stepped on my arm and grabbed the collar of my shirt, dragging me up to face him. "You are nothing, no one _really _care about you. No one would be _too _upset to find you gone." Dash spat, hitting me in the face hard enough that I saw stars.

He had a point though.

"Stella doesn't love you. Sam and Tucker don't care about you. You mean nothing." Dash added, kicking me several times in the ribs and shoulder. I was just taking it now.

Dash reached into my pocket, pulling out my wallet and taking the cash, before landing two sharp kicks to my leg and arm before leaving. "See you later, you fucking freak. Actually, just kill yourself and do the world a favor."

I just laid there. The sky darkened and I could feel the cold ground through my sweatshirt. I could feel a warm sticky liquid on my head, and everywhere else. I knew from experience that I was bleeding, a lot, but I didn't care. I just laid there and looked up at the sky. I laid there all day, until it was nighttime and the city went quiet. I had forgotten my phone at home and I was 99% sure that I had a few broken bones.

"Yeah Sam, I'll be there shortly." I heard a familiar voice say. There was a muffled sound, like a voice coming through the phone. I could hear footsteps and I willed myself to go invisible. Tucker rounded the corner and spotted the blood, paling slightly before muttering something on the phone and walking away. I let out the breath I didn't know I was holding and became visible.

My ghost sense went off a couple minutes later. I forced myself to stand, which hurt like a bitch, and transformed, propelling myself into the night sky.

Immediately I was hit by a heat seeking rocket. "I knew I find you whelp. Man, you don't look good at all." Skulker tisked. I rolled my eyes, turning to face him. "I look better than you. I'm surprised Ember hasn't left you yet." I smirked, letting my witty banter distract him from my injuries. He glared, growling slightly before launching himself in my direction, throwing me to the ground.

I hit the ground with a yelp and felt my head wound reopen. I could feel all my broken bones now, which was good because Skulker was already at me, throwing me into a different alley. My body fought the urge to transform as Skulker beat up what was left of my body. As he turned to grab what I thought was a hunting knife, I sucked him into the Thermos, happy that even in my condition, I could still beat 'the Ghost Zone's greatest hunter'.

I sighed, letting my body transform, and then I couldn't breathe. Oh god.

I could feel everything, 2x worse than usual. My ribs were probably shattered, and I probably punctured a lunge. I coughed into my hand, tasting a coppery taste on my tongue. I pulled my hand back to look, and yeah, there was blood. A lot of it. I looked around at my surroundings. I was in the alley by Sam's house.

Probably the last place I wanted to be. I didn't want to go to them for help. I _couldn't _go to them for help. But if I was going to die, I wanted it to be by my own hand, not Skulker with a hint of Dash.

I stood, coughing more blood. I could feel it on my lower lip, steadily dripping down my chin. I tried not to breath as I limped my broken body to the Manson Mansion's front door.

I knocked, wincing when it jolted the broken bone. I heard Sam's laughter before she got to the door. "Is it the pizza?" I heard Tucker yell from the kitchen. I leaned against the fence, rolling my eyes. No, not the pizza.

"I don't know! Lemme actually answer the door!" Sam said, sarcastically opening the door, and paling visibly when she saw me. Her hands went to cover her mouth as she gasped. "Oh my god." She whispered, catching me as I tripped.

"Can't breathe." I wheezed. Sam nodded. "Tucker! Call 911." She yelled. He came into the room and gasped as well, his phone already dialled. "Oh my god, what the hell happened?" He said.

I was getting really tired and it was so painful to stay awake. Sam slapped me on the cheek as I tried to close my eyes. "Keep your eyes open, Fenton." She snapped. "What happned?" She demanded.

"Dash..then-cough-Skulker." I got out weakly, letting my eyes clothes. "Danny, you gotta stay awake."

"Hi, my friend got mugged, he looks really bad." Tucker said into the phone.

My eyes shot open at friend. "I'm still your friend?" I whispered. Sam looked like she got slapped in the face when I said that. "Yes, Danny. You are still our friend." She said, tears in her eyes as she brushed my bangs out of my eyes.

I didn't feel so bad about dying anymore. I closed my eyes and let myself fall into a deep sleep. I wouldn't mind if I didn't wake up.

…

A shrill beeping noise woke me up harshly.

"Danny?" A worried voice said from next to me. I opened my eyes and looked to Tucker, who was gazing at me with remorse and relief in his eyes. I tried to sit up, but he quickly put his hand on my shoulder, stopping me.

"You'll regret that." He said sheepishly. I shook my head confused and just looked at him. I tried to sigh, but a sharp pain in my chest stopped me from doing so, and I burst into a coughing fit. Tucker watched me worriedly.

"Woah." I coughed. "What happened to me?" I asked, not remembering.

"You've been asleep for a couple days. You showed up at Sam's house beat up really bad. We honestly thought you were going to die before we made it to the hospital. The ambulance thought it wasn't as bad as I made it to seem, so it took its time." Tucker explained.

I nodded, and suddenly everything that had happened to me came rushing back, and I grimaced.

"So...is it still fall break?" I asked, smiling sheepishly. Tucker started laughing and nodded. "You should probably call your girlfriend, she's been trying to get ahold of you."

We sat there in an awkward silence for awhile before Tucker took a deep breath and looked at me. "I'm sorry." He mumbled.

I blinked. "For what?"

"For...giving up on you? I was a real dick, and you didn't deserve what I said to you. I probably made it worse, and that's not something I have done. I should have helped you through whatever you were going through. I'm not saying you have to forgive me, you can take your time. But I'm saying I'm here for you now. Anything you need or anything you want to talk about, just call me. No matter the time." Tucker said, closing his eyes to not see my reaction. I smiled widely at him.

He still had his eyes closed.

"...dude open your eyes." I laughed, not minding the pain. "Nope. You could be mad." Tucker said.

I laughed. "Dude, just bro hug it out with me." I said. He finally opened his eyes with a grin as I carefully lifted myself up and held my arms out. He hugged me gently, but enough for me to know that he cared.

"Now, I'm still kinda pissed, but I'm willing to sign a treaty." I mumbled into his shoulder. Tucker laughed and patted my back gently.

"Whatever." He rolled his eyes. "I'm going to go get your parents. They've been worried sick. Your mom regrets letting you go out." Tucker laughed. I chuckled along until he left the room.

I sighed. Honestly? I wished I hadn't woken up. I love having Tucker back in my life, and I'm sure Sam will be there as well...but Dash is right.

I'm basically a waste of space and no one _really _cares for me. Stella is probably just with me out of pity. She's probably going to realize that she can't fix me, and she's going to leave. Just like everyone else does.

One things for sure, I like the darkness that being asleep brings. I'm going to find a way to make the darkness permanent.

…

I had to stay in the hospital another day before I was allowed to be signed out. My parents were furious at me that I forgot my phone, but relieved that I was awake. I haven't called Stella yet, mostly because my parents kept forgetting to bring me my phone.

When I was propped up at home with TV and video games at my disposal, I finally checked it.

And Holy shit, Stella was _pissed_.

_Stell [rec] hey babe._

_Stell [rec] okay, its been a day and you havent contacted me?_

_Stell [rec] are you okay?_

_Stell [rec] danny this isn't funny at all._

_Stell [rec] two days. havent heard a word._

_Stell [rec] if your dead im going to kill you_

_Stell [rec] three days_

_Stell [rec] DANIEL FENTON ANSWER THE PHONE_

_Stell [rec] whatever._

That was only half of them. When I finally called her, she answered on the first ring and the first thing she said was "Give me one good reason to not break up with you right now?" in a very angry voice.

I could practically hear her plans on how to murder me.

I laughed. "Well," I croaked, my ribs not letting me take deep breaths yet to make my voice normal, "I just got out of the hospital from being mugged. Also that would be a shitty thing to do."

"Oh my god! What happened?" Stella was no longer angry. Yay.

"Oh, just Dash finally getting revenge on not having wailed on me in a month." I tried to sound nonchalant, but his words were still haunting me.

"...Are you okay?" Stella asked in a worried tone.

"I'm fine. A few broken bones and a lowered self-esteem but fine." I replied. Stella laughed and paused.

"...You scared me." She whispered.

I suddenly felt really guilty. "I'm sorry…" I said.

"...I love you…" She said hesitantly. My heart leapt into my throat and a large smile appeared on my lips as my mom walked in.

"I love you too." I said. I could hear Stella sigh in relief. "Thank god. I have to go...but I'll talk to you soon. Get some sleep….I love you." She giggled.

"I love you too…bye Stella." I smiled. My mom was smirking at me from the doorway and I feigned innocence.

"What?" I asked, feeling uncomfortable by her gaze. "Told you she loved you." She called as she walked away.

"Whatever mom!" I called back, but I could help but feel happy.

Genuinely happy for the first time in a long time.

Thank you Stella Hoover.


	7. Chapter 7

Due to my fast healing, I was able be out and about before my fall break ended. I stood up on the first day I could stand and took the first deep breath I'd had in a while, then proceeding downstairs where I about gave my mother a heart attack.

After 3 days of (forced) bed rest, I was dying to do something. _Anything_. Stella was no help. While she is getting tan in Florida, I am dying in bed getting paler.

Paler is bad for me.

Tucker has kept his word and has been talking to me more often. I don't fully trust him but he was trying. We played Doom all day one day, and, with his company, I almost forgot what Dash said to me.

Almost.

So, when I got my casts off, and was able to walk around without being monitored, I begged my parents to let me go out on my last few days of break. "Daniel! You just recovered from being mugged the last time you got out." My mom accused.

I groaned. "Mom! I'm not going to let fear rule my life!" I pleaded. Dad scoffed and patted my back. "Just go out, have fun. Come back around eleven, and don't forget your phone." Dad said, pulling my mother away as I grinned widely.

I rushed into my room, grabbed my phone off the charger before sprinting out into the outside world. I took a breath of fresh air, happily walking down the street to the park.

"Danny!" A familiar voice called from behind me.

"Hey, Frank!" I said happily. Frank jogged up to me, catching his breath before patting my shoulder. "Heard you got mugged!" He laughed. I nodded, laughing along.

"Dude! I thought they were kidding." Frank said, wide eyed. I shook my head.

"Nope! Had to be put on bed rest for a week." I muttered. Frank's eyes widened further than they should've.

"Your first week of fall break was wasted?! No! Party tonight. My house. I'm going to get you wasted. I won't tell Stella this time...I don't know what that was about. Party will start at ten, giving me enough time to send out texts. Anyone you want me to invite?" Frank said, already whipping out his phone.

"Nah, just don't invite Dash. Not on good terms with him." I grumbled. Frank nodded. "Alrighty! I'll see you at ten." Frank winked, already running away. I shook my head.

I headed to Tucker's house to spend the next 4 hours. Hopefully he wouldn't mind me dropping by suddenly. I don't know if he thinks that we are that close again.

I knocked on the door, Tucker's face smiling at me as he opened it. "Hey, dude! Up on your feet?" He asked, letting me inside. I laughed. "Yep. Mom didn't want to let me out."

Tucker nodded, chuckling. "Yeah, I wouldn't either, but, whatever. My mom just got dinner ready! You wanna stay?" Tucker asked, his eyes willing me to say yes.

"Yeah, of course, dude!" I said. Tucker smiled happily. "I can invite Sam, if you want." Tucker added. "Nah, it's fine. We need some quality bro-time." I said. Tucker nodded, a big smile still on his face.

"Yeah, happy to be here!" I smiled, feeling a bit happier than I have in a while. The smile wasn't sincere, though. I was still sad.

We ate dinner and then we just did a lot of guy stuff. I told him about Stella, and he told me some surprising news.

"You and Sam what?!" I exclaimed. He flinched. "Look, we dated for like a week, but it was too weird." Tucker explained.

I started laughing, trying to picture Tucker and Sam actually _dating_. A part of me was super jealous that Tucker got to date Sam when I didn't, but I quieted that part of me.

We played Doom for a couple hours before I checked my watch. "I got to go, bro." I said, getting up and popping my back.

"Where are you going?" Tucker asked warily, eyeing me. "Just Frank's house. He's throwing a party." I said nonchalantly.

"You wouldn't mind if I went, would you?" Tucker asked hesitantly after a few seconds.

"Uh sure dude. I don't mind." I said. Why did he suddenly want to go to a party with me? He was typing on his phone fast as he got up and grabbed his jacket. I made a face and watched him as he tripped over his bed. "Okay let's go. Mom! I'm going out with Danny! Don't wait up!" Tucker yelled, following me out the door. "What should I expect from Frank's parties?" Tucker asked.

I shrugged. "Mostly underaged teenage drinking. He stopped bringing drugs to parties after he got busted for smoking weed in the park." I said. Tucker nodded, chuckling a bit.

"So..." I said, realizing that we didn't have anything to talk about. We walked in an awkward silence for the rest of the way.

Frank's house was lit up like a Christmas tree and people were already passed out in the front yard.

Where the hell are Frank's parents?

I shrugged it off and pulled Tucker off the sidewalk and into the house, where Frank was doing shots at the dining room table. I rolled my eyes as Tucker spotted someone. "Why is Val here? I'm going to go talk to her. Tell me if you need anything." Tucker said, walking off to talk with the girl in question. I shook my head, going to Frank.

"Hey dude!" He said, immediately handing me a shot, which I quickly poured down- my throat.

"Alright, I'm on a mission to get wasted!" I announced, and the people around me cheered.

How funny it is that people can't tell when a person is completely and utterly broken inside.

...

(Tucker's Point of View)

I searched around the party for my best friend, who I was supposed to keep an eye on to make sure that he didn't drink.

I got distracted by Valerie, who was drunk and went home, and lost him. Frank wouldn't tell me where he was and I was worried.

I used to think Danny getting drunk was a good thing, then I wanted nothing to do with him, now I just want to hug him. I never noticed how dead inside he felt, and even looked.

He looked like a lost puppy, and I felt bad for abandoning him. After I learned from Sam that he had tried to commit suicide, I cried on her shoulder for hours, because I knew some of it was my fault.

I shook the thoughts from my head and continued looking for him. He was six feet tall and had black hair and blue eyes and I still couldn't find him. I groaned, my eyes flicking towards the patio door. A smile graced my face as I saw him on the porch looking up at the stars. No doubt he was wasted but I found him.

I walked outside into the cool air and sat next to him. Sure enough, his pupils were dilated and he was swaying slightly, his mouth open as he watched the night sky.

"I wanted to be an astronaut..." He whispered, finally looking at me. I was shocked that he had said that. I knew that he wanted to be, but he told me he had moved on from that dream.

"...do you still want to be?" I asked, taking the opportunity to question him.

"Yes." He stated, pointing up to the sky. "I know every constellation up there." He slurred. I blinked. It was probably time to get him home or at least to my house so he could crash there. I don't think his parents would like it if he came home wasted.

"I don't wanna be here anymore." He said, his eyes watering up. I pulled him to his feet and exited the backyard from the gate. "I'm taking you to my house." Tucker said.

"No, I mean," he drawled, "I don't wanna be alive anymore."

I blinked, frowning.

"Danny...you have so much to live for." I whispered softly, keeping him walking down the street.

"I was S-S.." He started. I nodded. "I'll call Stella right now." I said, going to retrieve his phone from his pocket, keeping on walking on. We were about ten minutes away from my house, five from Sam's.

"No!" He exclaimed suddenly. I stopped searching for his phone. "You don't want Stella? Who do you want?" I asked.

"I want Sam." He said quietly. He was starting to look green in the face.

"Okay, five minutes. Then you'll see her." I persuaded. He nodded, walking along with me.

I sighed. My best friend was starting to cry, wiping his face every couple of seconds. I didn't know what to do, so I just pulled him along faster, hoping that Sam wasn't too angry about being woken up at twelve in the morning.

"What was your curfew Danny?" I asked. He held up ten fingers, then one. Shit.

His curfew was eleven and it was twelve.

As soon as my eyes widened, knowing he was going to be in deep shit, his phone started ringing. He fished it out and went to answer it. I knew that that would be the worst idea ever, and quickly stole the phone.

"Hello..?" I said hesitantly, already flinching away.

"_Daniel Fenton! Where the hell are you?!_" His mom yelled. I groaned.

"Hey this is Tucker, he's staying at my house tonight and we are staying at Sam's at the moment. He's asleep." I lied.

"_Tucker, you and I both know that's not the truth because I just called Sam._" She said.

Shit.

"Mrs. Fenton..." I started, but I didn't know where to go with it.

"_I want to talk to my son._" She said, determined.

"You really don't." I finally breathed, watching him kick the weeds that were growing in between the sidewalk cracks.

"_Tucker Foley, you do not tell me what I don't and do want to do!_" Mrs. Fenton scolded. I flinched.

"He's broken." I said, as the boy in question sat down on the sidewalk and cried.

"Hold on Mrs. Fenton." I sighed. "Danny why are you crying?" I said, holding the phone still to my ear. I held it out to him as he answered.

"I killed so many plants." He sobbed.

"That is why you don't want to talk to him, Mrs. F." I said, hoping hearing her son slur his words would help her get the message.

"_Is he drunk?_" She gasped. I nodded, but realized that she couldn't see me.

"Yeah...he's really messed up, Mrs. Fenton, and you can't tell him you know. I got him out of the party and we are on our way to Sam's house right now, and I'll deliver him in the morning, but-"

"_Bring him home after Sam's. I wanna take care of my baby boy. I've known something has been wrong for a while...should I tell Stella?_" She asked.

"No, that would be the worst thing you could do." I explained. I heard her sigh over the phone.

"_Ok. I'll see you soon. Goodbye._" And then she hung up. I put the phone in my own pocket, wanting to read his messages to Stella to see if she suspected anything. I refrained and pulled the sobbing boy up off the sidewalk, where he was apologizing to plants, and walked to Sam's house.

I knocked loudly on the front door.

"Tucker I swear to God." Sam said as she answered the door, stopping her threat as she saw Danny crying. "What...?" She asked.

Danny looked up and his face scrunched up as he launched himself into Sam's arms. "Don't leave me." He sobbed, and I swear my heart broke in a million pieces.

Sam looked shocked and hugged him back, looking at me questioningly.

"Danny, honey, are you drunk?" Sam asked gently. He nodded. "And I need to pee." Danny said glumly. Sam giggled and nodded. "Go pee, my room please." She said, and Danny walked to the stairs, swaying roughly.

"Tucker what the hell?" She demanded. "He wanted to see you!" I squeaked as she pulled me in the house by my shirt.

"Why is he drunk and with _you_? If he's with you, he shouldn't be drunk!" Sam said. I sighed. "I tagged along at a party and I was going to make sure he didn't do anything stupid! But then I got distracted and looked for him for two hours. I walked him here, he cried about killing plants, his mom called and now she knows he's bad, and-"

My rambling was cut off by a loud smash and a bang. Sam and I paled as we raced up the stairs to her bathroom.

"Tucker he locked the door." Sam said worriedly. "I'm going to call Mrs. Fenton." I said, panicked.

"Why the hell would you call his mother?!" Sam said, still jiggling the door knob. "Because of their Fenton Unlocker! You can get into any human locked door!" I said, the phone already pressed to my ear.

"Danny open the door!" Sam yelled. "Thank god my parents aren't home." She said as she kicked the door with her sock covered foot.

"Mrs. Fenton! Hi! Danny locked himself in Sam's bathroom and its full of sharp and pointy objects and we don't trust him and you have the Fenton Unlocker and-"

"_Tucker calm down! I'm on my way._" Mrs. Fenton said worriedly, hanging up. I

and tried to help Sam get Danny to open the door.

"Danny please open the door!" Sam pleaded. We heard a muffled 'no' and some more rummaging.

"What are you looking for?" Sam asked quietly.

"Something sharp." Danny's sad voice said. Sam and I looked at each other worriedly and tried to talk him out of it.

"Why couldn't he be a happy drunk?" I groaned.

"Tucker that's not even funny." Sam scolded.

"Tucker? Sam?" We heard Danny's mom yell, footsteps racing up the stairs.

"Up here!" We called, still banging on the door. Danny had gone quiet and we hoped that he hadn't found anything.

"I got the Fenton Unlocker right here." Mrs. Fenton said quietly, looking worriedly at the door.

She held the device to the door knob and slightly pressed it against it. There was a shrill beep sound and the sound of the doors tumblers shifting.

"That should have done it." Mrs. Fenton said, holding her breath as she turned the knob. Sure enough, it opened and Danny was placing a fifth cut into his pale skin. There was blood everywhere and Danny was just watching it pour from his veins. "Danny!" We all yelled.

Sam rushed forward, slapping the razor out of his hand. His eyes snapped up into her own and they held their gaze.

Mrs. Fenton and I watched as they had a silent conversation. Danny's blank face was crumbling, his eyes watering over. Mrs. Fenton placed a hand over her mouth and stepped forward.

Sam went to grab his wrist when he shoved away from her, collapsing to the floor in a sheer panic. "Danny, calm down."

"No! You don't understand why I have to do this! You don't understand why I have to put these cuts on my body. Dash told me to kill myself, that I'd do the world a favor, and maybe I would. One less screw up in the world right? One less mess to clean up? Well I'm done with living a life that doesn't want me to live." Danny cried, his words slurred and upset.

Sam just threw her arms around his body and hugged him. Mrs. Fenton was crying, so I went and put my arm around her shoulder.

"He should stay here tonight. I don't want him to know I know." Mrs. Fenton said. I nodded.

"The less he knows about tonight the better. We may want to inform Stella." I said.

"No! She'll take away the solution to my problems!" Danny cried. Sam shushed him. "Tucker, I'm going to put him to bed. I'll see you soon, Mrs. Fenton." Sam whispered, grabbing Danny and pulling him through her house. Mrs. Fenton left shortly after.

...

(Danny's Point of View)

I opened my eyes. I blinked and let the pounding of my head rule over my senses for a minute or two. I breathed, and I was still alive. Black hair, blue eyed and alive. I sighed, knowing I had made a mistake, seeing that I was in Sam's room. I tried to remember what I had done last night.

I was at Tucker's, then we went to a party. Crap, my curfew!

I jumped out of bed, immediately collapsing to the floor. Oh my god, that was a really bad idea. I swallowed around the bile in my throat and stood again, leaning against the wall. Tucker and Sam were in the hallway, sitting by the bedroom door. I gulped again, preparing myself. When I leaned against the wall with my hand, I felt a flash of pain rush through my wrist. I brought it to my face and saw the bandage on it.

What the hell had I done last night? Did Stella know? Why was I at Sam's when the most plausible place for me to go would have been Tuckers? I took one more deep breath and dragged myself into the hallway, sitting next to Sam.

"Sorry." I muttered. Sam shrugged. "It's nothing you haven't done before." She said, disappointed. "Oh hell no." I said, standing up again.

"You do not _get _to do this to me again! The last time you ditched me because I made a stupid mistake, I got worse! I'm trying to get better Sam!" I shouted, ignoring the pain in my head.

"You aren't trying hard enough, Danny!" Sam scowled, growling from the back of her throat. "Sam!" Tucker gasped.

"I'm trying pretty damn hard." I narrowed my eyes. Sam shook her head.

"Not hard enough that even when you are drunk of your ass, you still want to die. Do you really think that low of yourself? Are you so selfish that you would die and leave the rest of your friends and family here to suffer? Are you that _pathetic_?" She hissed angrily.

I let her words sink in. They hurt, I'll give her that, but not as much as the newfound rage that took hold in my chest.

"Sam…" Tucker whispered, his jaw dropped to the floor. I felt my eyes fill up with unshed tears. I blinked, looking away. I'm done crying when people say stuff that I probably deserve.

"You know what Sam?" I spat. "Fuck you."

I turned on my heel and transformed, flinging myself in the air as Tucker screamed at me to come back.

No, I'm not coming back. I'm not letting Sam hurt me anymore.

But somehow, I knew she already had.

…

_Sorry for such a late update! Already working on chapter 8._

_Don't worry, _


	8. Chapter 8

_Trigger warning: There is a suicide attempt in this. If this could possibly trigger you, please to not read after the three dots. After the attempt I will end the scene with another three dots. it will be safe to read after then. thank you._

I thought about running away and never turning back. I thought about just walking away from all my problems and leaving them behind in a town where no one knew my name.

I thought about it. In the end, I couldn't bring myself to leave. Sam may have basically ripped my heart out and stomped on it, I had to be stronger than this.

In a messed up way, Sam _was _right. There was no way I was trying as hard as I should to get clean, but her words made me want to do the opposite.

Her words made me want to drive a knife deep into my forearm and lock myself in a room and bleed out. Its pretty graphic but its the truth. I was near an abandoned warehouse when I finally touched down. I transformed into Fenton and walked around, noticing the people standing outside in black clothes with their hands in their pockets.

"Hey kid." One greeted. I waved and went to walk away when another went behind me. "Now kid, you've had to have heard of this place. You smell like a druggie. You got money?" Another sneered. I did have like thirty dollars in my wallet, but I didn't want to…

Wait what are they selling?

"What are you selling?" I asked hesitantly. They laughed. "Obviously drugs. Our biggest seller is Coke, but we got Meth and Heroine." He said.

"I'm sure I don't have enough money to buy an-"

"Nonsense. We give you whatever your money can buy." The man persuaded. I mulled it over.

"I have thirty dollars?" I asked, pulling out my wallet. The man grinned. "Okay. That can get you a little sandwich bag filled halfway with Coke…" The dude said, pulling out a bag with the white powder.

I knew what I was doing was probably less than ideal. Either that or remember everything that had ever happened to me in the past couple of months.

I gave him the money and took the baggie, feeling the weight in my hand. "Nice doin' business with ya'." The man said creepily, thumbing the cash. I laughed nervously and replied, "Yeah, you too."

As I walked away with the drugs in my pocket, I facepalmed. Why the hell would I buy drugs from strangers I know nothing about?

I'm not going to use it, so I guess I just wasted thirty bucks. I sighed. That's all the money I had for lunch. I'm going to have to go back. Back to where I'm not wanted. Back to where its the last place I want to be.

I could eat the coke, but I feel like that would be less than ideal. I transformed again and flew home. I thought about the so called things that I could apparently live for.

The only thing that is keeping me alive is Stella. If Stella wasn't in my life anymore...I wouldn't be either.

I've pushed away everyone except her. I've disappointed everyone multiple times except her.

But I have lied to her. Many times.

I got home and shoved the stupid waste of money into my underwear drawer and laid down on my bed. I looked into my mirror, looking at myself. I saw the monster that I had become.

I glared down my reflection and punched my mirror, glass shards everywhere.

"I can't do this anymore, you hear me?! I can't live another second in this world, okay! I give up!" I screamed at the broken mirror, falling to my knees.

"I give up…" A lone tear slipped down my face as I wrapped my arms around my knees. I sobbed into them, hoping that none of my family was home to hear that. I'm giving up. I don't want to be here anymore. I miss everything about my old life. I miss being happy and carefree.

Everything changed because of my stupid portal accident. Everything. All because of _her_. She started this mess.

Now I'm the one going to have to clean it up. Tonight. Tonight, Danny Fenton will cease to exist.

…

I stayed in my room the entire day, not leaving to eat or drink. I left to go to the bathroom, but thats only because I wanted my final hours to be comfortable. My mom tried to come in, I told her to go away, that I didn't _want _her near me. Stella was the only one I kept in contact with, because I wanted her to know that I would always love her, no matter where I go next.

_Stell [rec] Hey! I'm almost home! i can't wait to see you babe, I miss you so much._

_Stell [sent] I love you._

I sent the message. I wrote a note. I packed a bag. I left my house.

_Stell [rec] I love you too (: Are you okay?_

_Stell [sent] I'll love you no matter where I go next._

I walked down the street. I turned left. I walked to Tucker's house. I left a note. I left.

_Stell [rec] Are you okay?_

_Stell [sent] and I want you to know that this isn't your fault._

I walked down the street some more. I took a right. I passed Sam's house. I left a note. I left.

_Sister Jazz [sent] I love you. I'm sorry._

I walked down the road. I walked into the woods and through the clearing. I walked passed hikers and walkers. I walked to my secret place.

This place has been my safe haven since I was five, so I thought it would be poetic to end it all in. My phone was vibrating up a storm. I was crying as I checked them.

_Stell [rec] Danny? Whats going on?_

_Stell [rec] Danny? come on! dont do this!_

_Stell [rec] wait just thirty minutes. I'll be home! I can be there for you!_

_Sister Jazz [rec] for what little brother?_

_Sister Jazz [rec] what are you doing? whats wrong. I love you too. so much. whatever dangerous thing you are doing, dont do it...okay? call me._

_Tucker [rec] y r stell and jazz freaking out?_

_Tucker [rec] hello?_

_Tucker [rec] dude?_

_Sam [rec] please dont. i read the note and im so sorry danny. i didnt mean, i was just disappointed! i cant live without you! please! _

I shook my head. All of these messages were lies! Every single one.

_Sister Jazz [sent] goodbye_

_Tucker [sent] goodbye_

_Stell [sent] goodbye_

When I went to send a message to Sam, I couldn't just give her a one word reply. She apologized. Sam Manson actually admitted to being wrong. I couldn't just...leave her to believe that this was her fault.

_Sam [sent] I cant live with you either. This is why I'm doing this. I cant live with myself disappointing everyone around me. I cant keep lying to everyone on how im doing. itll tear me apart. dont blame yourself. blame dash. dash is the one who started this whole mess. im just the one finishing it. tell my mom i love her. tell yourself i love you. and i do._

And in that moment, I held my breath as feelings washed over me. I loved Sam. Since when? What the hell!

I started to hyperventilate as I realized everything that I had kept inside the deepest part of my soul.

My true feelings for my best friend. The one who has been there since the beginning. My feelings for her were almost as much as the mine for Stella. Maybe they were the exact same. I couldn't tell anymore.

I couldn't choose. Not now. I have everything planned out. Sam would figure out where I was, so I had to do this _now_.

I pulled out the blade that I had packed in my bag and pulled up my sleeve. I pressed the blade against my skin. I let the blade go deep into the skin, the blood flow quickening. I sighed.

I didn't have to ruin my friendship or break Stella's heart. I just could disappear into the friendly darkness that I'm always so rudely taken away from. The darkness was just at the corners of my eyes. I felt the tug at my heart as the darkness washed over me.

Then I panicked.

What the hell was I doing? I didn't want to die! Not now! I regretted the decision immediately as the blood kept flowing from my veins. It was too late to turn back now, so I looked on the up side. The upside was this: my friends could live happier lives not having to worry about me every day. My sister could live a normal peaceful life without ghosts, or a half ghost brother. Stella could find someone who deserves her.

Sam could get married and not have to worry about whether or not her husband was going to come back from a ghost fight.

Its ironic that Sam was my last thoughts.

Then it was all black.

…

_Beep. Beep. Beep._

Whaa?

_Beep. Beep. Beep._

"...comatose...don't know...wake up."

What the hell?

_Beep. Beep. Beep._

"...Wake up...please…"

What the actual fuck? Where was I? Its dark, and I'm terrfied.

"We are in your mind, Daniel." A voice echoed throughout the darkness. I turned slowly around. Peering down at me was Clockwork. "Hey Clock...why are we in my mind?"

"Because you are in a coma. You were found five minutes after you died, and Sam was able to get your heart beating again. You are _lucky _to be _alive_." Clockwork scowled. I shrugged. "I didn't want to survive Clockwork!"

"I know that you are trying to be a martyr, Daniel, but your mission to hurt everyone you care about is getting old. You just found out you love Sam, just as much as you love Stella, and you were more than willing to just throw that revelation out the window! Daniel, neither Sam nor Stella would be able to get over you that quick. The future would be the following; Stella would not find anyone that compared to you in eight years, finally finding someone who reminded her of you. Guess what? He dies of cancer and she dies of a broken heart. Sam wouldn't be able to live or breathe without you. She would kill herself _days_ after your funeral, just to follow you. To be with you.

You think you are doing the world a favor, but you aren't. You are not doing anyone any favors by dying. This world needs you to be alive. Your family needs you to survive. Your body will maybe take _months _to heal itself. Please, don't do this again! I can't tell you anything else about what you do after this moment. Just remember, that Stella and Sam would die for you to live."

Clockwork vanished from my mind. I processed this information slowly. Sam would kill herself if I died? Stella wouldn't get over me for eight years?

I...If I wanted to kill myself successfully, I would need to push everyone away. No friends, no acquaintances. My only friend would be my blade and my booze.

I know that contradicts everything Clockwork was trying to tell me, but I don't give a damn. I want to die. I want to get rid of all human emotions without turning into Dan.

...Clockworks warning. He probably thinks that that would what I would take out of his conversation. To separate my human and ghost halves to sever that pain. Nope. I'm just going to end it all.

After I end everything between everyone I care about...if I even remember this moment in my head.

Do comatose patients remember anything about their time under? ...Clockwork knows I'm not going to remember. He's trying to brainwash me.

That bastard. How long has it been since that day? A month or two? A day or two?

I couldn't tell. Clockwork could, but he gave me no means to find out. I wonder if I could try to use my ears to find out….

I focussed on trying to hear. It was too quiet and I needed a distraction. A voice was talking. That stupid beeping noise was beeping. Someone was crying in the room next to mine.

_Beep. Beep. Beep._

"Hey, dude. It's Tucker. The doctors told me you probably wouldn't hear this. Keep fighting...okay? For me, for Sam, and for Stella. For Jazz, who is home from college because she wants to be here if you wake up. She wants be here if you don't. Stella doesn't understand why and thinks she's not good enough. Sam blames herself and keeps looking at the last text message you sent her, crying. You sent Sam a longer message than your girlfriend.

If my theory is correct, and you can hear me, I think you love Sam just as much Stella. I could see it in your eyes when I said I had dated Sam that you had wished you were dating her. Sam is keeping the text message to herself, so Stella won't know whats on it, if you told Sam anything just for Sam to know.

I'm going to go to school now, but I'll be back after. See you soon."

There was a slight pressure on my shoulder, like someone patting it, then the room was quiet except for the beeping.

The beeping was pissing me off, severely.

I turned off my hearing. I waited, what seemed like an eternity. I tried to calculate how much time was passing, but I can't know for sure. I turned my hearing back on a while later.

"Its been two months…" A voice said.

Damn, thats a fucking long time.

"Its been two months since I found you in your secret place. Two months since I saved your life. Two months since you sent me that text I don't understand. If you can't live without me, why would you leave? If you loved me, why did you go?

Don't worry, I won't tell Stella...or you, for the matter. Doctors say that you might not remember much when you wake up. If you don't remember the message, that's okay. I won't tell you. I'll let you figure it out by yourself.

If you loved me, as in _loved _me loved me...I love you too. Every day. I miss you, and I care so much about you. I want you to get better, but I made you worse. I can't stress how sorry I am…" Sam finished as she burst into sobs. I wanted to wake up, to hold her and tell her I was fine, but I can't. I turned off my hearing and waited. I waited and waited and waited. I was too scared to turn it back on, to hear my best friend cry.

I want to wake up! I want to see everyone! Or just let me die! Right here, right now! Anything that saves me the torture of hurting everyone as I'm sleeping. There was a pressure on my hand now.

Clockworks right, I gotta at least try to get better. I have to try to be the person everyone wants me to be. Happy. I promised myself that I'm going to try a lot harder at being happy, from now on.

I tried to squeeze the hand in mine. I tried to wake up the nerves that wouldn't respond and loosen up the muscles. I felt my finger twitch.

Wait...where was I again? Why is it dark? What the hell happened?

…

I opened my eyes to see Sam, smiling wide, tear tracks running down her face. "Danny!" She whispered in awe. I nodded, my head killing me. My muscles hurt and my joints felt like they hadn't moved in three months.

"Thats because you haven't moved in three months." Tucker said from the doorway. I blushed, not knowing I had said that outloud.

"How long was I out?" I said, my voice hoarse. "I repeat, three months." Tucker repeated. Oh.

"Oh…" I repeated out loud. Tucker laughed. "It's good to see you in the of the living buddy. We missed you." Tucker said, smiling and coming over to hug me.

Something was strange...what happened? Why was I in the hospital?

"Wait...what happened?" I said into his shoulder. He looked back at me wide eyed. "You don't remember?" He asked. I shook my head.

"Nope. What did I do? Was it a ghost?" I asked. Sam shook her head. "Danny...you tried to kill yourself. I found you." She explained, her smile disappearing.

"Yeah, you left everyone notes too, except Stella who wasn't home. You texted everyone goodbye except fo-"

"Except for your parents. You gave everyone one word. Goodbye." Sam cut Tucker off, who was looking at her confused.

"Oh…" I said awkwardly. "So...I'm alive though."

"And _this _close to a mental hospital dude. You have to stop. We can't keep bailing you out." Tucker warned. I nodded.

So they would have to not find me next time. "Can I see Stella?" I asked. Tucker nodded. "I'll go get her, and a doctor. Sam, lets go." Tucker said. Sam nodded, sparing me one more glance before heading out the door.

I sighed, preparing myself for Stella. "...Again." She said when she opened the door. I nodded, looking down.

"...You broke my heart." Stella spat. "You're mad." I stated. She gave me a look. "No shit! I'm supposed to fixing you! I'm supposed to be making you better!" She growled. I shook my head, going to stand up. I was wearing a white t-shirt and gray sweatpants.

"Stella, I'm sorry!" I pleaded. She shook her own head. "No, Danny. Sorry isn't going to cut it."

"Are you only with me because you think that I need fixed?" I asked, my voice going quiet.

"Danny…" She sighed. "We aren't having this conversation here...okay?" She said, walking out of the room. I watched her go, my heart sad. I didn't think she'd be mad at me.

She didn't even deny it.

Stella was only with me because she thinks I need to be fixed.

What a revelation to wake up from a three month long sleep to.

…

_I totally planned on this being a happy chapter._

_This might have been the saddest chapter I've written for this story. Oops._

_So, Sam's not telling Danny what he figured out before he forgot. If you are confused: Danny forgot everything when he woke up. Everything that happened the night he tried to commit suicide. He forgot that he found out he loved Sam, and he forgot Clockwork's warning. He also forgot what he promised to himself. _

_Thanks for reading!_


	9. Chapter 9

When I get back to school the following week, I am bombarded with questions.

"What was it like to be in a coma?"

and

"I heard you tried to off yourself. How's it feel to be a failure in _that _too."

I felt like banging my head against the locker. School was harder, home was harder, and life was harder. Stella wouldn't talk to me. The only thing I had going for me was Tucker. Sam was trying to get back on my good side. In fact, she's following me now.

"Sam. Go away." I said. She shook her head. "I'm sorry." She said for the millionth time. "I don't care." I snapped. Sam sighed. "Danny, I know that I shouldn't have said that to you. I feel like shit." I sighed. I turned around.

I smiled at her. "Sam…" I started. She looked up at me with hopeful eyes. "Fuck off." I glared.

Sams face shattered and nodded, walking away. Finally, peace and quiet.

Except nevermind because Stella decided that very moment to come up behind me and say, "We need to talk." I turned and smiled, nodding gratefully. I may not remember much before and after the incident, but I know Stella was very upset at what I said to her, and that I didn't even so much as call her.

I learned that from Tucker.

"...so…." I started, awkwardly rubbing the back of my neck. Stella crossed her arms. She uncrossed them and grabbed my face in her hands, kissing me roughly. "One last good day." She muttered under her breath.

"...when I had found you in that bathtub, trying to escape life, you reminded me of my younger brother. His name was Dean. He went through a rough patch when his role model, my uncle, died. He was bullied all the time and I couldn't do anything as I watched him spiral down until it was too late. He killed himself last year. I didn't want to see the same thing happen to you. So yes, the reason I started dating you was to fix you." She said.

I nodded. That hurt...a lot. I had liked her from the start, and she looked at me like some school assignment?

"Then you were different," She continued, "When you were happy, you were so...alive. You felt, looked, and tasted alive. You were so much different than anyone else I knew. I fell in love. I felt like my mission was complete and that I could just live beside you. I let my guard down. Then you got sick and I had to go alone with my parents to Florida. As I'm coming home, and I can't wait to see you, I get a text. Just a couple damn texts saying goodbye. That it's not my fault. Well, that hurt me really bad, because I love you. I love you so much and I can't stand to see you hurt all the time, Danny! I just-" I cut her off with a kiss on the lips, grabbing hold of her hair and pulling her close to me. She was crying and I was crying; we were both one big mess.

"I love you too Stella. I don't remember what the last thing on my mind was when I tried to...you know...but I know I regretted it, and I think you were the last thing on my mind." I said. A deep part of me screamed that it wasn't true, that someone else was on my mind. Another part of me screamed that I hated the other person at the moment, so it was Stella who was on my mind. I shrugged and kissed my girlfriend so more, before she stopped me.

"...You have to tell me when you are hurt, okay? When we break up, you need to tell me when you are feeling horrible." Stella said. Wait...when we break up?

"...Are we breaking up?" I whispered, my heart shattering. She shushed me. "No, baby, not today. Not today. In the near future? Probably so. Not everything is meant to be. I know that half my feelings for you were because you reminded me of Dean. His eyes were blue too. With you knowing now that I was pretending to be into you for the first couple weeks because I wanted to fix you hurt you. I still want to fix you, but I don't think I can if I am your girlfriend." Stella said calmly. I nodded, like I understood. But I didn't. I didn't understand why she thought it was okay to do this.

"Come on. One last ride." She offered out her hand to me. I nodded. If this was my last day with Stella as my girlfriend, I was going to make the most of it.

…

I woke up alone. I was tangled in my sheets with a note on the pillow. I recapped the day in my head.

After Stella and I ditched school, we rode around town in my car. We went to the movies and then out to dinner. Then, we went home to my house. I carried her in. We were laughing and happy. We shared one last night of passion. Now, I'm alone.

I turned over the note and read her neat handwriting.

_Danny,_

_Thank you for one last day. I will give you time to feel the pain, because feeling is good. My want of wanting to fix you had overridden my feelings for you and I hope that you forgive me. I loved you so much._

_Goodbyes are easier when not in person. I see why you sent that text instead of calling. No one to talk you out of it but your own thoughts._

_~Stella_

I just cried after that. I just put my head into my hands and cried. I didn't know what to do now. The one who had been there since this whole mess was started...was gone. Stella wanted nothing to do with me except _fix _me. Like I was a dog.

I couldn't even bring myself to be mad. After I had cried, I just felt numb. The pain of her leaving me fresh on my heart, but I couldn't bring myself to feel anything. The numbness was just there. So I got up and grabbed my late work and started doing it. I played video games; I avoided my family.

Then my dad came home.

"Danny...can I talk to you for a second?" He called up the stairs. "Yeah, coming." I called back, jumping off my beanbag chair and running down the stairs.

He was sitting on the couch alone. My mom was in the lab, like she had been since I had gotten home from the hospital. "...I want to know why you would do something so stupid." My dad said simply. I shrugged.

"Was it because of your family?" He asked calmly. I shook my head. "No…" I trailed off.

"...then why punish us?" He asked, his voice angry. I was taken back. "What?"

"Daniel, we raised you in a family where you can talk about your problems, not go and run away from them! This is an open household where you can talk about anything! So why didn't you tell us how you were feeling? Why did you lead us to believe that you were fine, when you were dying inside. Your mother was the one who answered the phone when the hospital called. They told us you were in a coma and that there was a pretty big chance that you wouldn't wake up.

We rushed to the hospital to find Stella there, holding your hand. Your pale, lifeless hand trying to get you to wake up. We asked her what happened and she just looked to us and said, 'He gave up." My dad yelled. I flinched.

"We sure as hell knew what that meant. You gave up on living. You broke your mothers heart. Now, I don't know what to do with you." Dad spat. I gasped.

"Dad! I'm sorry!" I begged. He shook his head. "No...you are a disgrace to this family. I will decide what your punishment is. Go to your room." Dad ordered. I nodded and raced back up the stairs.

First Stella...now this? My dad thinks that I'm a disgrace to the family…

Wonder what he'd think if I was half-ghost...that _that _was the reason I did all of this.

_Tucker [sent] ...hey._

_Tucker [rec] hey dude! how goes it?_

_Tucker [sent] ...I may need a place to stay tonight…_

_Tucker [rec] aw man, my grandma's here and I don't have an extra room… why?_

_Tucker [sent] ...oh! No reason! I just wanted to get out of the house lol_

I sighed, seeing that Tucker's house was not going to be my usual safe haven. I sighed.

Where else could I go for the night until my dad forgives me? I decided to watch TV for awhile to get my thoughts off the my-dad-hates-me variety. I've never seen my dad act like that either. I really disappointed him…

...Wasn't that why I tried to kill myself in the first place? For them to stop being disappointed in me?

If this wasn't a wake up call, I don't know what is.

I ignored the burning in my skin that itched for a cut and waited until my dad called me down the the living room. My mother was crying the sofa, and my dads face was hardened.

"I've come to a decision Daniel…" He began. I braced myself. What was the decision? Extra chores? Therapy?

"...You have two hours to pack a bag and leave. You can come back when all thoughts of killing yourself is out of your head, no matter how long that takes you." Dad finished. I gasped. "No! Dad you can't do this to me! I have no where else to go!" I begged, a tear running down my face.

"Until you learn to express your feelings without needing to die, then you are none of my concern." My dad said. I flinched, looking to my mother. She shook her head.

"Jack...theres got to be something else he can do!" My mom pleaded. Dad shook his head. "This is the only thing. This will teach him a lesson. This will have him know what it feels like to lose family." Dad said. "Pack your things. You have two hours. Only. Two. Figure out where to go, but don't come back until you are clean." My dad ordered. I nodded in defeat. There was no changing his mind. Jack Fenton may not be a smart man, but he never backed down on his word. There was no arguing.

"...I'll help you pack…" My mom sobbed. I nodded numbly, letting her drag me to my room and pack my things.

We packed my clothes, cell phone with its charger, shampoo and soap, and other necessities. "I will still pay your phone bill, okay? Text me or Jazz anytime. I think this punishment is too severe, but you know your father. This is the only way to-"

"Win back my loyalty...I got it." I said quietly. "Danny...talk to someone. Do something. Do something fast then come home." Mom pleaded. I nodded, hooking my arms around her in a tight hug.

"Shower. I'll pack you some food." Mom sniffed, leaving the room. I got up on my shaky legs and went to the bathroom, starting the water. I showered for my remaining time, and then my dad was yelling at me to leave. I got out, dressed in a black sweatshirt, dark wash skinny jeans, and navy blue converse, and grabbed my bag.

I hugged my mom and said goodbye to my father, and then I left. I walked to the park, and sat down on the park bench, watching the people around me walk by. I people watched until the sun went down. Then I remembered the bag of white powder in my room. I transformed in a bush and quickly flew to my house to retrieve it. I didn't listen to too much of my parents conversation about me, because it was making me upset. I flew back to the park and put the item in with my other things.

If worse came to worse, I could sell it for some cash. I wouldn't use it. I wouldn't get that far gone.

I went into the trees, into the small clearing where Stella, Frank, and I had gotten stoned almost forever ago, and laid out and blanket. I laid down and watched the stars until I fell into a fitful sleep.

…

I woke up to birds chirping around six o'clock in the morning. I made sure no one was around and dressed for school. Believe it or not, I was still going to go to a place that educated me _and _offered free food.

I checked my phone to see if my dad had backed out on his decision.

_Tucker [rec] you can stay tonight if you want! Grandma is leaving today!_

I smiled. A guaranteed place to go. I would not inform him of my current living conditions. I would work on building a small borough or something to safely hide in during the day on the weekends, maybe get some furniture to store in it. I would have to clean it first…

I stopped planning in my head and hid my clothing and other things, grabbing my backpack and heading out of the park, towards the school.

I got there early, and people were staring at me. I knew no one knew and that gave me relief that I wouldn't have anything else for people to make fun of me for.

"Daniel...may I speak to you in my room please?" Mr. Lancer's voice said to me from behind. I turned and nodded, following the overweight teacher into his classroom.

"...I'm glad you are well, and was wondering if you would need some extra tutoring to catch up on your late work." Lancer offered.

"I actually taught it to myself, or at least three fourths of it to myself!" I said happily. Lancer's face brightened. "I'm glad to hear that! Now...why were you in a coma for a few months? Some people are saying you tried to...you know, but I wanted to hear it from the source."

I thought about whether or not I should lie and say I was in a car accident. "...Well Mr. Lancer, I can't say I've been in the best state of mind recently, and yes I did decide to give up…" I said awkwardly. "But, I'm trying to get better." I added hastily, as Mr. Lancer's face clouded with pity.

"...Could I give you some advice?" Lancer asked after a few minutes. I was sitting down at my desk now, waiting for first period bell to ring. "Sure, I guess." I shrugged.

"Get help. Don't try to bottle everything up and wait for the _right _moment to let everything out. Talk to someone. I could be Tucker or Sam or your parents," I flinched, "but I promise, talking about it will make you feel better. I'm free all the time if you need to talk to me." Lancer finished. I nodded.

"Thank you Mr. Lancer...do you want my late work now or?" I changed the topic. Lancer went from concerned adult figure to level-headed teacher in the blink of an eye.

"Yes. Now would be splendid. Just hand everything over to me and then I can give you tonights homework so you can get an early start." Lancer smiled, handing me a worksheet. I got to work, only looking up when Tucker tapped me on the back with his pencil when class started.

"Bro...do you understand this?" He asked, pointing to question five.

"Yeah, but I taught myself in like a weird way." I said simply, turning around to see he was actually point at a note. I grabbed it and opened it, sending a wary glance to Mr. Lancer.

_Hey… Rumours going around that you and Stella broke up…true? She's been hanging all over Jack Fussy._

I rolled my eyes at Stella's antics.

_**Yeah. She decided that she was only with me in the beginning to fix me.**_

_Ouch._

I nodded, closing the note when Lancer sent a glare our way. I got up to throw away the note when I met Sam's gaze. She looked up, questioning me with her eyes. I shrugged and threw away the note, surprised when another one took its place on my desk. Sam was looking down, so I knew it was from her.

_Can we talk? ~Sam_

I thought about it. Figuring that I had nothing better to do with my time, considering I was homeless, I nodded at her. She smiled gratefully and turned back to her worksheet.

I then remembered my current living situation, and decided that building a borough in the ground would probably _not _work, even with ghost powers. I was starting to panic, thinking of various scenarios that would go wrong with living in a park.

Wolves.

Bears.

_Spiders_.

For a ghost hunter, I had a mean case of arachnophobia.

The bell rang suddenly, making me jump as other students began gathering their stuff. I sighed, adding on to the list of stuff I have to get done. Maybe I should call Jazz. Dad always favored her so maybe she could get him to change his mind.

"Danny? Hello?" A hand was waved over my face. I shook my head, looking up. Tucker and Sam were waiting for me like they used to. I sent an irritated glance at Sam before giving up and walking with them.

"So, Danny, Sam was wondering if you wanted to have a movie night at her place?" Tucker asked hesitantly. Sam was bracing herself for the answer I was about to give.

"Yeah, pass."

Tucker visibly lowered himself and nodded. "...Sam," I started as she looked at me, "Just give me some time...okay? What you said really hurt me and I'm not quite so ready to forgive you so easily." I finished. Sam nodded.

"Yeah, okay." She said. I gave her a ghost of a smile before parting ways with them to my next class. Math.

…

At the end of the day, I walked home with Tucker. Sam had been walking with us, but only conversed with Tucker, not even trying to get my attention. I appreciated it, because I had a lot on my mind.

"Hey, so Tucker...I think that I'm going to pass on staying the night tonight." I finally said. He looked at me worried. "Why? Is everything okay?" He asked, his eyes sympathetic.

"...I just need to think about somethings. I'll talk to you later." I waved and made my way to the only place that I could forget about everything.

My parents. Sam. Stella. Tucker. Jazz. School. Home.

I walked to Frank's house. I knocked on the door and waited and low and behold, Frank opened the door. "Hey Danny!" Frank greeted, holding his cell phone. "Are you having a party tonight?" I asked quickly. Frank nodded. "Yeah! Was literally about to text you. I have a weird question though." He asked nervously.

I leaned against the doorframe. "Ask away."

"So, do you know where someone could get their hands on coke?" He said quietly. I nodded. "I actually have some...you want it? I'm not going to use it." I said. Frank smirked. "Oh, bring it tonight. But you are taking some with me."

I got nervous. I'm not going down this road. I just want to get drunk. I can't mix anything together, thats dangerous. That could _kill_ me.

"...Uh, no." I said. Frank smirked. "Come on Danny, just try it once. You can't get addicted from doing it once." He persuaded.

He _did_ have a point.

No, what the fuck Danny, no he doesn't have a point!

One time! Just so I can get it out of my system?

...Fine.

"...Fine." I said aloud, watching Frank's mischievous smile turn joyous. "Want me to invite Stella?" He asked.

I smirked. "Fuck no, dude. Stell and I are done. She made that very clear this morning." I spat. Frank whistled. "Duude. Now you _have no choice _but to drink and get high with me. Man, this will be a party for the record books." Frank shook his hand in the hair, triumphantly. I smiled, a pang of guilt and nervousness deep inside my chest.

What's the worst that could happen?

…

I showed up to Frank's house around ten. I finally got the answer to where Frank's parents were. He lived alone with his parents sending him loads of cash every month.

I gave him the bag of coke. "Why don't you just buy your own drugs?" I asked. He rolled his eyes. "I have to tell them what I'm spending the money on before I do. They don't care about anything except alcohol and drugs, but they are a bit lenient on the alcohol _sometimes_." He explained. I nodded. The house was crowded by now, and a person was there I didn't want to see.

Stella.

"Daniel Fenton." She hissed. I rolled my eyes. "Yes Stella?" I asked, glaring at her. She stepped back a bit. "You do not need to be here." She snapped.

"I don't need to be, but I want to be." I snapped back, taking a swig of my beer. She glared harshly.

"Danny...lets go." She snapped. I shook my head, downing the rest of my drink as someone I didn't know handed me another, much to Stella's annoyance.

"No, I'm not letting you fix me, Stella." I snapped, walking away. I heard an angry growl and a door slam. I smirked, knowing I had gotten her to leave. "Woah, I'm just letting you know right now that you do _not _need to be fixed." A short brunette girl smirked at me. I smiled. "Thanks."

I walked away from her and into the dining room where Frank was lining up the powder into lines. People around him were whispering excitedly. Most of them were junkies excited for a free fix.

"Danny! You get first line." He said, throwing me a rolled up dollar bill. I shrugged and took it, fear taking hold of my senses.

"Now, you've probably never done this stuff before. Basically, since its your first time, you gotta inhale through your nose _gently_. One line. Just one, since you're only just now trying it. Then, if you want more, you gotta buy more." Frank winked. I nodded nervously before leaning over the table, pressing the dollar into my nose and inhaling.

It was strong and gave me a headache for a moment, before my senses were completely overwhelmed with the feeling. I felt my nose start to bleed and I quickly pressed my hand to it. Frank laughed. "Yeah, that usually happens on your first try. Congratulations, you've done cocaine."

…

The high didn't last long as I thought it would, but it didn't matter. I was drunk and on my way to the park Where I lived now. Great.

I leaned over the sidewalk and threw up into the road and wiped my mouth to continue walking. I walked all the way to my house. I looked inside to see my sister, mother, and father eating dinner at the table. I felt overwhelmed with anger.

I stomped up the stairs and burst open the door. Jazz smiled in confusion as she watched me approach my father, whom I punched in the face.

"Daniel!" My mother gasped.

"Listen here, father." I slurred. He narrowed his eyes, holding his nose. "When your family member is having problems, you _do not under any cir_-uh-_circu_-shit,"

"Circumstances?" My sister asked in shock. I nodded, "Yeah that. _Circumstances_ throw your child onto the street! Okay? Yeah, I'm a messed up kid, and you could probably do way better without me. You could probably not have to worry about anymore kids if you...didn't...have...me." I trailed off.

My dads eyes softened. "Daniel-"

"No, shut the fuck up and listen to me for once." I slurred. He nodded.

"I have a secret that I can't tell you, okay? It's stressful and it hurts that I can't tell you, but you'd hate me. You would want to tear me apart and experiment on me. Hell, you already hate me but you don't _think _it's me when it is." I yelled. Jazz paled and got up. "Danny...why don't you go to bed?" She asked.

I shook my head. "No. Fuck you. Fuck everything. I'm done." I held up my middle finger at my father as I walked out of the house. I jogged to the park and into the trees. I laid down in the clearing with my blanket and pillow and slipped into a fitful sleep.


	10. Chapter 10

_So this morning at school, I asked all my friends (who wouldn't look at me weird) songs they would kill themselves to OR get high or wasted to. I have a playlist xD_

_Leave out all the rest - Linkin Park**_

_Untitled - Simple Plan_

_Summertime - My Chemical Romance_

_Therapy - All Time Low_

_Welcome to the Black Parade - My Chemical Romance_

_Sick Little Games - All Time Low_

_Avenue - Agnes Obel_

_Happy Little Pill - Troye Sivan_

_Clean - Taylor Swift_

_All Signs Point to Lauderdale - A Day to Remember**_

_My Immortal - Evanescence _

_Mama - My Chemical Romance_

_Breathe Me - Sia_

_Beautiful Broken Bones - Dead!**_

_I'm Not Okay - My Chemical Romance_

_Skinny Love - Birdy ***_

_I think that this is relevant to listen to these. Thank you (:_

…

I woke up with blood dried under my nose and my knuckles hurt for some unknown reason. I groaned and got up to be face to face with a little girl. I waved sheepishly and then she ran away. I sighed, gathering up my blankets and pillows slowly. My body was shaky and weird. I remembered that I had done Cocaine with Frank, and liked it.

I want more.

I shook my head and proceeded to check the time. It was 2:30. School was almost over. I groaned and slapped my forehead. Not bothering to go to school for thirty minutes, I got dressed in black skinny jeans and a red t-shirt with navy blue converse high tops. I grabbed my backpack and walked to the Nasty Burger to grab some food and about halfway there I realized that I didn't have any money.

I sighed, putting my head into my hands and groaning. I went into the alleyway and sat down, curling my arms around my knees. I went invisible when my parents and sister walked by. "Jazz, honey." My mom pleaded.

"Why would you kick him out? Clearly he needs all the help he can get." Jazz yelled. "I'm going to inform Sam and Tucker of his living conditions."

"Jasmine, don't you dare." My father bellowed. "He needs to learn to not depend on people to fall back on."

"...now that you know who he is, you _still _aren't going to help him?" My sister asked incredulously.

"...That just improves my faith that he can fix this by himself." My dad said walking away. I sighed. I need a fix.

I froze. What? I'm not going down that road. Not this time. Not when I'm already homeless.

_But I need more._

I sighed again. I do a lot of that now. "Mr. Fenton!" I heard my English teacher bellow. My father turned around. I got up, still invisible and followed them.

"Daniel wasn't at school this morning, have you seen him?" Lancer said. My dad paled. Oh no. "No I haven't. I was under the impression he was at school." My dad said. I let out a breath of relief. I went back into the alley and went visible, making sure there was no more blood on my nose, and walked out.

I could feel my dad's eyes on my back but I kept walking. "Daniel?" Mr. Lancer called after me. I turned, my face blank, waved slightly and kept walking. I didn't know where I was going to go, but I know what I needed. I needed a fix. My body wants it. Something my body wants wouldn't be _that_ bad right?

…

"Come on please!" I pleaded. The man shook his head. "Look, you don't have cash, you don't get the goods." He said, shrugging.

"I can't _get _money." I spat. He sighed. "Look kid. You don't want to go down this road, but...I need someone to steal for me. Valuables. Breaking into peoples houses and stealing things. That's all you gotta do, and I will pay generously."

"Anything, I'll do anything." I nodded, grateful I'd have money. He nodded. "...The Baxters. They have a stupid golden dog statue. It doesn't look like much and they got it for two dollars. It's worth thousands. I need you to get that. Come back and I'll give you a thousand for your sacrifice. Do _not _get caught." He said.

"Okay...what's your name?" I asked. He shook his head. "Just call me Boss. I don't give out my name to just anyone." He smirked, throwing a bag of white powder my way. "You can pay me fifty later, you need that kid."

I thanked him and ran down the street to the park, shoving the bag into my pocket, ignoring the suspicious glances. When I got to the clearing, I was surprised to see my sister. I panicked. "Heyyyy Jazz!" I smiled. She turned and ran into my arms.

"Hey Danny, are you okay little brother?" She asked sympathetically. I nodded. "I'm fine." I lied. I just needed to get a hit and I _would _be fine. "...Do you need somewhere to live?" She asked carefully.

"No. Dad's right. I need to do this by myself." I said through clenched teeth, hating even the very word _dad_.

"...That's not the impression that I got when you punched him the face last night. I understand and so did he. He knows, by the way. He knows about you being Phantom."

My eyes widened. "What? Okay, you have to leave." I said, panicked. She looked confused. "Danny wha-"

"He could've followed you here! This is the only safe place that I have! I can't lose this too, okay? I've already lost every shot at a normal life." I said. Jazz sighed. "Look, you are graduating in a few months, okay? You are guaranteed to graduate even if you mess something up." Jazz reassured me.

"Please just leave." I said, leaning against the tree. I'm about to start my life as a delinquent on the run, I didn't need my sister getting in the way. She nodded. "Call me if you need anything."

I shrugged. "Whatever."

…

When the sun finally set, I was out on the street, ignoring sideways glances at my appearance. I was aware that I looked like shit. I just got off my high like five minutes ago and had a massive headache, and I just wanted to get this job done. I phased into the Baxter household and stood in the entryway, Jonathan Baxter was asleep on the couch, and in front of him was the golden puppy statue.

I smiled, turning invisible as I went to go grab it. As soon as I touched it, alarms went off. Ecto guns came down from the ceiling and Jonathan woke up. "_Warning! Ghost has infiltrated your home! Warning!_" The alarm suddenly announced. Dash and his little sister Rebeka both came down the stairs screaming at their father.

I took this moment as my leave and phased through the ceiling with the statue in hand. I smiled wickedly at it, not coming uninvisible, and flew off towards Boss.

I turned human and visible when I touched down on the ground. Boss was standing against the garage door, smiling at me as I held up the object in question.

"Well I'll be damned, you got it! How'd you manage that?" He asked. Clearly, he didn't think he'd see me again. "I'm a stealthy guy." I shrugged. His grinned widened. "You are going to be useful to me boy. Here, a gift. For a job well done." He handed me an envelope, complete with a thousand dollars cash. "I gave you the thousand, because Baxters are an elusive bunch. We haven't gotten in their houses in years until now." Boss grinned, patting my shoulder.

"You are a good asset. Thanks for being the little junkie you are." Boss joked and left the parking lot, leaving me standing alone.

That was a rush. I could...I could steal more stuff and have more money for more drugs! I didn't have to get a job if I was this good at just stealing things.

And _then _I could steal things and 'find' them for the reward, maybe even send the cops on a wild goose chase. Yeah, this is sweet. I finally can fend for myself.

I went to my clearing and gathered up my stuff, heading to the nearest motel. "I don't know how long I'll be staying." I said. The clerk nodded. "I understand kid. You still in high school?" He asked. I nodded sheepishly. He sighed.

"I'm not supposed to give out rooms for teenagers but, you look like you've been sleeping in a ditch for a week so I'll give you a month for a hundred." The clerk offered. I nodded.

"Thank you! Thank you so much sir." I handed him a hundred dollar bill and he eyed me. "Where on earth did you get this?"

Oh crap.

"I was saving for a car. Then my parents kicked me out." I laughed nervously. He nodded. "You got a job then?" He asked, inspecting the bill further then typing something on the computer. "Yeah. I do." I shrugged. He nodded.

"Alrighty, you are all set. Room 5 outside. Here is your key. Every month is another hundred, if you are planning on staying here for awhile." I grinned when he gave me the key. I could now start living comfortably. I didn't need my parents.

I went to my room and put all of my clothes in the dressers. I would go get groceries after school tomorrow. People would get suspicious if I just _stopped _going to school all together, and started failing, so I set my alarm for five thirty and stripped down to my boxers. Then, I fell asleep.

…

The alarm blaring was the first thing I woke up to. I yawned and stretched my sore muscles, smiling at the ceiling. "I'm not waking up to birds." I whispered to myself. Things are getting better.

I got in the shower, looking down at my scars from cutting. As soon as I thought about it, I was in dire need for a cut. "No Danny," I said to myself, "You gotta start getting better."

Still, the need for a cut and the need for a fix was fresh on my mind, even as I dressed and grabbed my backpack, slipping on my shoes to start the walk to school.

Tucker was waiting for me on the stairs of the school. "Hey dude! Where were you yesterday?" He asked. I shrugged. "Overslept."

"Well, your parents are here in the office, talking to Ishma. What's that all about?" He asked. I shrugged. "I don't know. Don't really talk to my parents usually." I said nonchalantly. Tucker looked at me worried when Sam walked up. "Hey guys." She greeted, pulling out books from her locker.

"Hey Sam." Tucker and I said in unison. We looked at each other and grinned.

Yes, I was starting to forgive Sam, now that I was trying to forgive myself. Sam's smile at me made me decide to get rid of all the drugs when I got back to the motel.

…

'_That plan didn't go so well_.' I groaned, waking up a couple hours after school had ended. There were coke lines on the table and scratches on my arms.

My phone was also lit up.

_Unknown [rec] hey kid, its boss. got another job for ya. Xaviers got this painting, worth thousands. Again, they got it at a garage sale. Their security is top notch, so be quiet and careful. I'll see you at midnight at the usual place._

I sighed, grabbing my coat, not bothering to bandage my wounds, and head out the door. I walked down the street when I spotted Sam and Tucker, laughing and walking down the sidewalk.

I pulled my hood over my head and walked behind them, listening in. "Did you hear that a ghost broke into Dash's house." Tuck said after they stopped laughing. Sam sighed. "Yeah...do you think…?" She left the question unsaid, but Tucker and I both knew what she meant.

"I don't think so, but who knows anymore? He's changed. Jazz told me to watch out for him yesterday, and not to call the house anymore, cause he won't be there. What does that mean?" Tucker exclaimed.

Sam shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe we should wait for him to tell us." She said quietly. Tucker looked at her like she was crazy. "What? Sam he could be doing bad things. We don't want him to keep down this road." Tucker reasoned. Sam sighed.

"Tucker, half the reason he is down the road in the first place is because of us. If we hadn't ditched him, none of this would've happened. He wouldn't have tried to kill himself-"

"Twice." Tucker added sadly.

"-twice. He wouldn't be possibly stealing things. ...Do you think he's on drugs?" Sam asked suddenly. Tucker paused. "It's possible." Tucker sighed. "We are bad friends." Sam said sadly.

"Really bad friends."

At that moment, I decided I had heard enough and walked into the alley next to me to get to the Xaviers. Mikey Xavier was in my grade, but I didn't know that _they _would have a prized expensive painting in their house. I hope it isn't too big.

"Of course." I spat when I finally got to the painting. It was _huge_. Like, the Mona Lisa huge. I facepalmed. How was I supposed to-

"Hello?" Someone called. I cursed and went invisible. "Anyone there?"

A middle aged man with a baseball bat stood in the hallway. I held my breath.

"Honey? What is it?" A woman's voice said. "Nothing honey. Thought I heard something." He said warily, walking back up the stairs, taking one last look at the painting.

I let out my breath and pulled the hood over my head some more making sure that if he did see me, he wouldn't know who it was. I grabbed the painting and carried it to the door, turning intangible and phasing through, only to just hit the wall.

Damn these stupid ghost security systems. I kicked the door down, ignoring the shrill beep of the alarm and ran into the night, ignoring the gasps of passersby as I carried a giant ass painting through the street. I went into the alley and went intangible, flying to the usual place.

Boss was waiting for me, checking his watch. I walked with the painting towards him, pulling off my hood. "That a boy! Man, I heard the alarm from here and I thought you got caught!" He said, snapping his fingers. Two men came and took the painting from me, loading it into his van.

"That was me getting out." I said. Boss smiled. "You got moxy kid. Never change. Here's your payment, for a job well done." Boss smiled handing me an envelope. I counted the bills. Three thousand. "Sir, this is three thousand dollars." I gasped. He nodded.

"Thank you so much!" I gushed. He rolled his eyes, grabbing me by the shirt collar. "Okay, enough. No more gushing to me. You take the envelope and you leave. You only talk to me when I form a question. Got it?" He snapped. I kept quiet. He sighed.

"That was a question." He deadpanned. "Oh-Got it." I gulped. "Good. I will text you when another job comes up. That may not be for awhile, which was why you got a bonus. Get out." He snapped. I ran across the parking lot to my motel room. "Crap!" I groaned. I had forgotten to eat today.

Oh god, shit balls I'm starving.

I sighed, checking the time. Two o'clock in the morning on Saturday. I was alone.

I never really realized how alone I was until just now.

…

_One Week Later_

_(Sam's Point of View)_

"Danny!" I greeted, but I was worried about him. He was paler, skinnier, and jumpier. He was always leaving class, and even though his grades weren't dropping, he was distant.

I understand why he is distant with _me_. You know, I was such a bitch. But he had forgiven me...hadn't he? Before he forgot everything he told me that he loved me.

And now he doesn't remember and I'm stuck with this secret.

There have been mass burglaries throughout Amity and everyone was scared. No one could catch him...it was like he was _invisible_. I knew that it was probably Danny, even though I didn't want to blame him...all signs pointed to him.

The burglar can set off ghost alarms, but still somehow get away when the ghost shield goes up?

I feel horrible for him. I'm about to feel even worse now that I'm following him home. I had already dropped off Tucker after getting my license and was now following the elusive Danny Fenton home. Except he walked past it. Why was he even walking in the first place?

His car was in the driveway for fuck sakes!

He just kept on walking, stopping to cough for a second before continuing, until he got to a motel.

Why was he going to a motel? He got out a key and opened the door to Room 5. I eyed him suspiciously as he closed the curtains and the light turned off. I drove back to Tucker's house. I got out my phone and dialed his familiar number.

"Tucker! Come on!" I hissed into the phone.

"_Sam! I'm eating!_" He replied with an equal amount of venom. I rolled my eyes. "Come on! Danny isn't home. He's at Amity Motels, Room 5. I followed him." I said. I heard the shoving back of a chair and the clinking of silverware when Tucker appeared in the passenger seat.

"Jesus!" I jumped, pulling out of the driveway, hanging up the phone. "Just drive, Manson!" He ordered. I gave him a look. "Please?" He laughed nervously.

We pulled into Amity Motel and got out of the car quietly. The curtains were still drawn and it was spooky. "May I help you?" A man asked. "Nothing! Just visiting a friend, but we think he's asleep...do you think you could open the door for us?" I asked sweetly.

The man grinned. "Ah yes, here's the master key. I just need it back after you get the door open." The old man winked. I inwardly gagged. Disgusting.

When we opened the door, we were hit with the smell of rotting food and molding fruit. I held my breath and opened the door further, revealing the messy room. Our friend was asleep and his nose was bleeding. "Give this back to the manager." I whispered. Tucker nodded, slightly green.

"Danny?" I shook him gently. He wouldn't respond. I checked his pulse to find it barely there, and getting weaker. "God damn it, Danny!" I panicked, feeling for my phone. I dialled 911.

"_9-1-1, What's your emergency?_" A calm voice answered.

"My best friend...I think something happened, but his pulse is barely there and getting weaker. His nose is bleeding and, oh god I don't know what happened!" I said, my voice two octaves higher.

"_Ma'am, calm down. Where are you?_"

"Amity Park Motels, Room 5." I recited.

"_Alright, I have an ambulance coming your way._" The lady signalled then clicked off. I sniffed, not letting my tears fall. He was going to be okay. I looked around and saw the white powder on the table, with drops of dried blood around it.

"...Is that cocaine?" Tucker asked worriedly. I nodded. "We need to clean up before the ambulance gets here." I said. Tucker paled. "He overdosed...didn't he?" Tucker asked quietly.

"Yeah...I think he did." I said, picking up all of the powder bags and throwing them out in the dumpster. He doesn't need them. He's not going to do this anymore...if I had any say.

"Tucker, we got to do something about this." I said finally, putting the last of the clothes in the bag.

"Why the fuck does he have twenty thousand dollars in here?" Tucker asked, ignoring my previous statement. "Tucker! It doesn't matt-give me that!" I took the money out of his hands. "However he got this, it's _his_." I scolded. Tucker pouted. "You are being too calm for this situation." I glared at him.

He shrugged. "It's better than being panicky. He's going to be okay, as long as he hasn't stopped breathing!" Tucker smiled. I immediatly checked. His breaths were short and shallow but there, so Tucker was right.

"We have to do something about this, Tuck." I said. He nodded. "I'm going to take these bags to your house...when do your parents get back?" He asked. I thought about it.

"...next year? Around spring." My parents were currently touring the entire world because of my fathers company. "Then he can stay there. Or at least his stuff can." Tucker said. What did that mean?

"What's that mean?"

"Sam...he's got to go somewhere...rehab or a mental hospital. The hospital is probably going to put his on record for another suicide attempt. So, I'm going to put him in one." Tucker said, already pulling out his phone. "I'll meet you at the hospital."

"...try to find something local." I offered. He nodded. "It's not for forever, Sam." He said.

"I know…" I sighed.

"Sam?" Tucker asked before leaving. I looked up. "What did he say? That paragraph long message that he doesn't remember...what did he say?" He asked.

I took a deep breath. "That he loved me….he told me he loved me."


	11. Chapter 11

(Danny's Point of View)

I'm in the damn hospital again.

"Danny?" Sam's timid voice came from beside me. "Yeah?" I asked annoyed. "...I'm sorry that it's come to this." She said simply. I opened my eyes.

"What do you mean?" I asked, scared. "...Tucker enrolled you in Other Ways." She whispered. My mouth dropped open. "Excuse me?" I demanded.

"...It's getting too bad, Danny. Did you know you overdosed?" She asked. I opened my mouth to counter to that, but I closed it.

"What about school?" I asked. She shrugged. "We are going to tell Lancer in the morning. He may be willing to teach you from there. I wouldn't want to jeopardize your diploma." She said. Her voice didn't _sound _accusing, but I took it that way.

"...Like I did?" I demanded. She looked up, eyes wide. "Danny, I'm not even saying that." She sighed. "I'm not disappointed in you, either." She added.

I raised my eyebrow. "I'm disappointed in myself, Tucker, and your parents. We all saw the signs and didn't do anything about it. Your parents were stupid enough to throw you out and-"

"Sam...shh." I quieted. She nodded. I raised my arms, desperately wanting to comfort my friend. She gladly hugged me. I squeezed her tightly against me, pulling her to lay in bed with me. "I forgive you." I whispered, smoothing her hair back as she hugged me.

"Hey dude." Tucker said from the door, a slightly smile on his face. I glared, but not as intensely as I would if I were really mad. "Other Ways?" I asked.

He sighed while nodding. "Sam wants you to get better, and I do too. I don't want to find you like that again."

Other Ways is the teenage rehabilitation center. It deals with cutters, druggies, and overall suicidal people. I fit the bill…

"Who am I going to come back to?" I asked sadly.

The other part of Other Ways that makes it so popular is that after two weeks you go home for three days...who would I come back to? 

"We moved all of your stuff to Sam's house. You'll come back to _us_." Tucker reassured. I smiled. "That'd be nice." I admitted.

"Tucker, you do realize that it costs 600 dollars just to get into Other Ways right? Where are we going to get that kind of money?" I raised my eyebrow. Tucker scoffed.

"With your money of course." He said. I tilted my head to the side in confusion. Sam looked up at the point, from my shoulder, and stared. "What money?" I asked, confused.

"The money in your motel room? In the envelope?" Tucker said. I shook my head. "I have no idea what you are talking about." I said, going to scratch my arms. Sam slapped my hands away.

"...you don't remember robbing all of those houses?" Tucker asked. I blinked. "I did _what_?!" I exclaimed in sheer panic. "Woah calm down. You don't remember? Well, you've been robbing people for the past week and worked up twenty grand." Tucker grinned.

Now that he said something, I was getting snippets of alarms, middle aged dads, and Dash Baxter.

"I was…"

"You were high. That's why you don't remember. Danny you did _cocaine_ and almost died. That is why we put you in Other Ways. We gave you too many chances to fix it on your own. Now you forced us to stop you. This is going to be really hard, so youhave to push through. You are being transported there tomorrow." Tucker explained. I nodded.

"...I'm going down to the cafeteria to grab some food." Tucker said. "Jell-O?" I asked, smiling. Tucker nodded. "You betcha." He winked, leaving the room.

"...Danny...I have to tell you something." Sam said, sitting up to meet my eyes. I looked at her, looking into her eyes to see if I could see if the news was happy or sad. Her eyes were blank.

"...When you killed yourself the second time, you sent the word goodbye to everyone except-"

"Except for my parents, yeah. I heard." I said, confused.

"-for me. You didn't just send me one word." Sam said quietly. I looked at her in confusion. "Huh?"

"Do you want to read what you sent to me?" She asked. I tried to remember what I had sent. I just remember panicking after I _did _send it. I shook my head. "Not now." I whispered. She nodded.

"I understand. Tell me when you do though. I can't keep this a secret forever." She said, getting up and exiting the room.

I laid down against the pillow, trying to remember what I could've possibly said. It was on the tip of my tongue, but I couldn't figure it out. I decided to get some sleep. Tomorrow...I start Other Ways.

…

"Hiya! Welcome to Other Ways! You must be Danny!" A overly cheery middle aged woman greeted. I gave a sideways glance to Sam, who was standing beside me, much to my comfort.

"Y-yeah." I stuttered. Sam snorted, quieting herself when she saw my side glare. "Well, Follow me to your room." The lady said. I groaned inwardly and followed, taking Sam's hand, lacing our fingers together to make sure she wasn't going anywhere. I saw the small smile that lit up her face when I did.

"This is your room. Here at Other Ways, you don't have to share rooms! Also, your bags were checked, and the clothes that _are _mandatory on weekdays are in the dressers. I am Sheila, your personal counselor. In around thirty minutes, Harris will escort you to group therapy." The lady-Sheila-waved at me before disappearing down the hallway.

"What the hell, Sam." I glared. "Woah, don't look at me. Sheila seems...nice." Sam laughed. I chuckled along with her. "I'll see you this weekend?" She offered. I nodded.

"...Please come. I don't want to do this alone." I whispered. Sam smiled, taking me into her arms. "You aren't alone, Danny. You never were." Sam whispered into my ear. I smile when she kissed my cheek and walked away. I watched her go, wishing that she'd come back and attach my lips to hers and-

Woah, what the hell dude? I shook my head away from the thoughts of Sam kissing me and decided to put on the gray sweatpants and white shirt. There were black Keds at the bottom that I slipped on as well. After I was done, I sat on the bed and played on my phone.

"Danny?" A voice called, knocking on the door. I got up, looking at the twenty year old boy in front of me. "Hi, I'm Harris. I'm your nurse. Ready for Group Therapy?" He asked. I shook my head, scowling. He laughed.

"Don't worry. Not as bad as you think." He winked.

Okay, Fenton. Don't panic. You are going to be fine. It's just therapy. In group form. Nothing to worry about.

I mean, if I really wanted to get out (which I do) I could just phase...

I'm such a goddamn idiot.

I braced myself against the wall before attempting to go intangible. A shock from my wrist made me yelp.

"Danny? You okay?" Harris turned around, eyeing me. I smiled sheepishly and nodded, curling my hand over my wrist. He turned around and I brought it to my face.

A bracelet.

I went to to take it off, but I shocked my fingers. I kept walking with Harris, angrily glaring at my wrist.

Of course they would know I would figure out that I could just leave whenever I wanted to, so they had to take that away. Figures. I sighed.

Guess I'm in this for the long run.

"Now, if you need anything, just call for me." Harris said, gently pushing me into a room with twelve other people.

"Hello Mr. Fenton! Have a seat!" A cheerful lady in the middle of the circle called. I blushed and walked forward, sitting next to a boy around my age with bleached hair and blue eyes. "Hey." He whispered.

"Hi…" I whispered back.

"Now everyone. We are going to introduce ourselves. I will choose a random person, and they will stand up, say why they are here, and who they are here for. Why don't you start, Mr. Fenton?" She said. I gulped and stood.

"...My names Danny and-"

"Hi Danny." The people greeted.

"-and I'm here because of being addicted to drugs...and I'm here for my best friends." I said awkwardly, then sat back down.

The dude next to me was named Jack.

"Hi my names Jack. Do _not _repeat me." People looked around awkwardly. "I'm here for my boyfriend, Hayden. That's all you have to know." Jack glared. I smiled. I liked Jack.

The remaining people were Lily, Opal, Natalie, Joshua, James, Marcus, Karson, Harley, Micah, Mitch, and Maggie. They were all here for around the same reasons. Their parents were worried about them. They committed suicide too many times before being brought here. Many of them weren't so happy about being here. The person in charge of group therapy, Dr. Kat, was eager to learn all about us.

"...Now, since this is many of your guy's first day, we are getting off early for a late lunch. If you have any questions, please contact your personal nurse or counselor." Dr. Kat smiled, giving us back over to our nurses.

"Hey Danny!" Jack called. His nurse was following close behind him. "Hey Jack." I greeted back. "How was group therapy you two?" Harris greeted. Jack shrugged at the same time as me.

"...Well Nathan," Harris said to Jack's nurse, "We can leave them to it. They are already on Step `one of the eight step solution process." Harris grinned eagerly, he and Nathan leaving us alone.

"...Step one?" I asked. Jack nodded. "Basically step one is making friends here. Step two is admitting you have a problem. Step three is getting through a week of being clean. Step four is admitting to the people you care about that you are sorry that you got that bad. Step five through eight...well you don't know about them until you get there." Jack explained.

"So...you are here for your boyfriend?" I asked, making conversation as we walked through the hallway to the cafeteria. "Yeah...Hayden means the world to me. I've lived with my uncle Nick ever since my parents, well, died. Hayden was my next door neighbor and I fell for him the first time I saw him...you ever had anyone like that?" Jack asked.

I nodded. "Stella. My ex-girlfriend. Turns out that she was only with me to fix me. I didn't know it at the time, of course." I shrugged. "What about that goth girl you came in with?" Jack asked curiously. I looked at him. "What about Sam?" I asked defensively.

"Nothing, nothing. It just seemed like you two had a thing for each other. The way that you watched her leave…" Jack trailed off, looking at me. He shrugged. "Coulda just been my imagination though." Jack said finally.

I didn't respond. We walked to the cafeteria in silence. When we got there, the room was so loud that you couldn't hear yourself think. I felt shaky and odd, and the only thing in my mind was that I needed a hit.

"...so...tell me about Hayden?" I said when we sat down with our food. Jack looked up surprised.

"What?" I asked. He smiled. "It's just, when people find out that I'm gay and in a homosexual relationship, they just leave that part out. Nobody's really asked about him." Jack said.

I grinned. "You've been hanging out with the wrong people."

Jack nodded. "True...well, Hayden and I...we don't live in Amity. Uncle Nick just thought Other Ways would help me the fastest, and that I could come home for three days every two weeks. Hayden is...well, the sweetest guy you could meet. He has brown hair and green eyes and a _shitload _of freckles. He gets really offended if you call him 'Freckles' though. Its my pet name, and I have permission to use it though," Jack winked, "...I don't know….I just love him."

I laughed. "I know the feeling." I stopped.

"...Tell me about Sam." Jack urged. I took a deep breath. "We've known each other since kindergarten. She was the girl in the pinkest dress playing in the mud. She hated pink, and her mother knew that but still refused to dress her in what she wanted. She was being alienated by the people she had been friends with before, so I introduced myself.

I had introduced myself as Daniel, and she had looked at me funny, saying that I didn't look like a Daniel. I looked like a Danny. The name stuck. Her mom hated me from the beginning, because I would bring her my clothes to wear, and she would change in the bathroom.

We were friends ever since, even when I introduced her to my best friend Tucker, who they had a shaky relationship with meat ever since. Sam is a vegetarian, Tucker is a meat connoisseur." I paused.

"I had...tried to kill myself. Twice. Sam found me the second time and saved my life. I hadn't been grateful till now though. She told me that I sent something to her, something that changed her feelings toward me. I don't know if it was something I sent that was good or bad though…" I trailed off. Jack looked at me.

"I had tried to kill myself too. Hayden found me, and it broke my heart to see him cry. He thought that he-"

"Wasn't good enough?" I finished. Jack nodded. "Yeah. But about the message thing...it could still be on your phone...right?" Jack asked. I nodded. "I'm afriad. I just remember panicking that I had sent it." I confessed.

"Why don't you remember sending it?" Jack asked, taking a bite out of his sandwich.

"...I had been dead for three minutes before Sam found me and got me breathing again." I admitted.

Jack's brow furrowed. "Wait how did you kill yourself?" Jack asked.

"Cutting." I shrugged.

"Dude...you should be dead! You lost blood! That isn't given back simply by breathing!" Jack exclaimed. I paled.

That's a good point. "That's a good point."

I didn't know how to explain it. "I guess I'm just lucky…" I trailed off, looking at my food. Jack sighed. "Look, sorry. Whole point of Other Ways is to get better and _not _talk about what we did in the past." Jack apologized. I nodded. "Don't worry about it."

"Daniel Fenton?" Someone called. I looked up and saw Mr. Lancer standing in the doorway, motioning me over. "I'll see you later." I told Jack. He nodded, taking another bite of his turkey sandwich.

"Hey Mr. Lancer." I greeted awkwardly.

"I would just like to say how proud I am that you are here." Mr. Lancer said, taking me into a empty workroom. "I will be continuing your studies until you are good enough to attend school and then come back here." He continued, pulling out some textbooks out of his backpack.

I nodded, taking a notebook and a pencil that was handed to me.

"We are starting out with History. D-Day occurred June 6, 1944. It was the Allied invasion of…"

…

(Friday)

I woke up early Friday morning to a knock on my door. "Danny! Wake up!" Harris greeted.

I groaned, throwing an extra pillow at the door. It opened and I heard a snicker. "You have a visitor. Please wake up." Harris said. I groaned again and showed no intent on getting up. "Okay...He's all yours Miss." Harris said, exiting the room.

"...Little brother!" Jazz's voice said. My head shot up. "Jazz!" I said excitedly, jumping up and hugging her tightly.

"So...why didn't you tell me you were coming here?" Jazz asked, sitting us down on my messy bed. "I was embarrassed….and at the time I hadn't wanted to go." I admitted. She nodded.

"I just wanted to let you know how proud I am of you for sucking it up and coming. I could tell you had needed help, but didn't want to force you into anything...and I apologize for letting you get this bad." Jazz said. I smiled.

"I'm getting better...you don't have to worry about me." I assured. She smiled. "...So how is school?" She asked.

I told her everything. I had gotten my grades back to A's in the past couple days, and I was assured that I would recieve a diploma. Lancer was impressed by my willingness to learn. I had gotten a 100 on a test everyone else had failed. I've been having 'classes' everyday at four, and it has been consistent.

"...hows dad?" I asked, awkwardly. She sighed. "He heard that you came here. Hes proud of you. I don't know if hes going to come here though…" Jazz admitted. I nodded.

"I have to go. I have make up work I need to do for college, but I'll see you soon." Jazz smiled, grabbing her bag and kissing me on the forehead, and exiting the room. "Jazz!" I said, suddenly.

Her head popped back into the room. "Yeah, brother?" She said worriedly. I took a deep breath. "I'm sorry I let myself get that bad. I love you." I said. She smiled and nodded. "And I love you." She said, leaving the room for good this time.

I sighed, because as soon as she left, I could feel it. Its been a couple days since I've drank or done anything, and I could feel it.

It was like every vein was screaming at me to take a hit, and it was really taking its toll on me. Lancer, I think, as noticed and as been a saint in not assigning too much homework. If I wasn't in an activity, eating food, or talking to Jack, I was sleeping.

I was trying to get over it the best that I could...but it was proving to be harder than I thought. I didn't have an activity till ten, so I took my blanket and wrapped it around my body, exiting my room to the living area. Jack was already seated on the couch, watching a movie and talking on the phone.

I yawned and came up to him, sitting on the couch next to him. "Hey dude." Jack greeted, then getting a weird look on his face. "No, Hayden. I was talking to Danny." Jack giggled.

I smiled and rubbed my eyes, feeling the tiredness setting in. Jack frowned at me, mouthing at me if I was okay. I shrugged and turned my focus on the TV. It was a Home and Garden show, which reminded me of Sam...who I missed a lot.

"Hello Danny!" Harris greeted. I sighed, annoyed. Harris never left me alone. "Don't worry, this will only take a minute. Sheila would like to have a word." Harris sighed. He hated that I didn't really like him, but I didn't care.

"Okay. I'll be right back, Jack," I leaned up next to his ear, "See ya, Freckles!" I said with a laugh before narrowly avoiding Jack's smack.

Harris led me down the hallway to Sheilas office, who was talking on the telephone excitedly. She motioned me into the door, gesturing at me to have a seat. I gulped and sat down, playing with the end of my shirt.

"Bu-bye!" Sheila said, hanging up the phone sharply and looking at me. "You've made friends. Do you have a problem?"

Wait what?

"Uh...with drugs? Yeah." I said, confused.

"You've been clean for a week, you've made friends with Mr. Overland, and you admitted to yourself and your sister that you have a problem and you are sorry for it. You are ready for step 5." She said excitedly. "We have never had a patient move as fast as you have! Now, Step five is to be in the same room as one of your vices, and spend the night and the next day there.

Don't worry if you can't handle it, we will be inviting Ms. Manson and Mr. Foley to our facility this weekend to stay near you just incase it gets to be too much."

I gulped. "Are you sure thats a good idea?" I asked timidly. She nodded, a wide grin on her face. "Oh absolutely. I have complete faith in you, Mr. Fenton. You will start this afternoon." Sheila waved me away.

Oh shit.


	12. Chapter 12

"Is something on your mind, Mr. Fenton?" Lancer asked. I was shaking and nervousness made in hard to breathe. "...uh, yeah...there is." I admitted.

Lancer placed his hand on my shoulder. "If something is bothering you, please let me know. We can make up work some other time." Lancer said. I sighed.

"...well, I'm ready for step five of the treatment process." I admitted. Lancer smiled. "Congratulations!" He exclaimed. "I don't think I'm ready for it. What they are asking me to do...its too soon." I added. Lancer's smile dropped a bit but his gazed softened. "...what is it?"

"You have to spend a night and day in a room with what you are addicted to," I pointed to the paper in front of me, "I have to write it down now...I do it tonight." I sighed, rubbing my temples with my fingers.

"How long have you been clean, Mr. Fenton?" He asked. I sighed. "About a week? It's too soon. I could crack under pressure." I said. Lancer frowned. "...you have to do this? No choice?" I shook my head.

Lancer sighed and patted my back. "You'll be fine. No lessons today...okay? Go get prepared." Lancer said, packing up all the stuff.

"...After step five, I get to go back to school." I said. Lancer smiled. "Then I'll be seeing you at school. Is step five the final step?" He asked. I shook my head. "Oh no. Theres two more."

"Yes, Mr. Fenton. Two more. I need your addiction list please." Harris said suddenly, making me jump. I glared. "Jeez, Harris." I handed him the list. His eyes widened a bit.

"Thats...you were, never mind. I'll pick you up in an hour." He said, nodding his head and gripping the paper. I looked down at the ground, nervousness coming back full force.

"Mr. Fenton, please come down to my office! Thank you!" The intercom with Sheila's voice rang out. I sighed, grabbing up all the work in my backpack and my phone and headed up to the offices. I saw Sam's familiar car in the parking lot and I smiled, walking faster. Tucker and Sam were sitting in the office, Sheila explaining something to them excitedly, gesturing wildly with her hands.

I opened the door, announcing my arrival, and Sam was already up, hugging me tightly. "Hey dude!" Tucker said, but I didn't reply, hugging Sam back with equally as much force. "Okay, ignore Tucker." Tucker said dismissively, a small smile on his face.

"Now, Mr. Fenton. Step five is going to happen in two hours. Sam and Tucker will be following you around the facility. You can introduce them to your friends if you would like. You will eat dinner and then go to building A, where Step five will be held. I'll see you there." Sheila smiled creepily and dismissed us. "Introduce us to your friends? Does she think you are mentally challenged?" Tucker joked. I shrugged, not saying much. Sam looked at me worriedly, but let it go as soon as we got to the lounge. "Hey Jack!" I called, rushing over and jumping on top of him, only doing so because I saw the brunette next to him.

"...Daniel!" Jack snapped. The brunette was giggling next to him, their hands laced together. "Hello. I am Danny." I greeted, shaking his unoccupied hand, while looking at him upside down.

"Hayden. Hayden Haddock the third." Hayden greeted, still laughing. "Jack has told me a lot about you."

"Bad things, I'm sure." I glared playfully at Jack, finally hearing Sam and Tucker's laughter from across the room.

"Oh right! Jack, Hayden, this is Sam and Tucker. My best friends." I smiled warmly at them as they walked over. "Ah…" Jack looked thoughtful before smirking at me.

"Sam! Danny has a crush on you!" Jack yelled loudly, Tucker bursting into laughter, Hayden hitting Jack on the back of the head, and Sam and I blushing vividly.

"Haha, v-very f-funny." I stuttered. I hadn't checked the message yet, even though it was there. I've seen it. Its a fucking paragraph long.

"Man, Jack! You are a riot!" Tucker laughed. Sam hit him, still blushing hard. We sat on the couch and talked for awhile, but my eyes never left Sam. Sam was talking and laughing with everyone, and it's been awhile since we've had moments like this. Tucker and Jack had hit it off, while Hayden and I sat quietly to the side.

"...So do you?" Hayden asked me quietly.

"Do I what?" I replied, watching Sam punch Jack, who was saying something suggestive.

"Have a crush on her." He reiterated.

"...yeah. I think it do." I smiled fondly.

…

"He's going to be alone. In a room full of his vices?" Sam asked angrily. Sheila nodded, handing me a bag of activities. "Don't worry. He can do it."

"Hey! He's going through withdrawal!" Sam countered angrily. Sheila tsked. "I'm sorry, Ms. Manson, but if he's going to do this, he's going to have to do it alone." Sheila said, pushing me gently into the room. "You are here to make sure he doesn't. You will be able to enter the room every other hour." Sheila said. I gulped, the door slowly opening it and me stepping inside.

I was greeted with a large, white room with a couch, tv, bed, fridge, and a table in the center. On the table was alcohol, coke, and a knife. I gulped, already feeling the itch under my skin by seeing that blade.

I looked toward the window where my friends were, looking at my watch. It would be a whole hour till they could come in. I broke into a nervous sweat, swallowing loudly. I set down the bag and my backpack, walking over to the couch. I passed the table, pausing nervously at it, before continuing walking. "_Congratulations. Step 6 has been completed_." A robotic voice said.

I jumped nervously, deciding to watch something on TV. I got out my phone and texted Jack.

_Snowflake [sent] Step five is hard. Really hard. I don't know if I can do it._

_Snowflake [rec] hayden and i believe in you, nerd._

I gulped, not feeling any less nervous despite Jack's kind words.

_Snowflake [rec] ill come tomorrow morning and bring a hershey bar or something._

_Snowflake [sent] only if you want to._

_Snowflake [rec] i can handle it. im scheduled for step five right after you :D_

_Snowflake [sent] grats. imma go._

_Snowflake [rec] bye :D_

I chuckled slightly at Jack before turning my attention to the door. There was a button and a speaker right next to it, so I walked over, turning my gaze from the table in the middle in the room. "Sam? Tucker? I want you guys in here. I need help. I can't do this by myself." I said into it.

"_Step seven complete! Allowing friends into the room_." The intercom screeched. I breathed a sigh of relief. Sam and Tucker jogged into the room, taking me into their arms.

"Come on, dude. I've got Guardians of the Galaxy?" Tucker smiled sheepishly. I nodded, looking warily at the table in front of me.

We watched the movie, but my eyes were mostly on Sam, who was texting on her phone. My brow furrowed and I nudged Tucker. Tucker slapped me on the leg and shushed me, making me look at him in disbelief. I scoffed and got out my own phone.

_Tucker [sent] who is sam txting, you little shit_

Tucker felt his phone vibrate, and he glared at me after reading the text. He shrugged, nudging Sam.

"Who you textin?" Tucker asked. Sam chuckled a bit. "Ethan."

My heart drop, but I let a mask come over my face. "Who's Ethan?" I smirked, raising my eyebrow. She smiled gently. "My boyfriend."

I tried not to let my hurt show on my face, so I looked away. I felt my heart shatter into a million pieces. Then I wiped my face clean of emotion.

I didn't even want a hit anymore. I just wanted out of this room and away from her. Somewhere I could express my emotions in private. I checked my clock. Eight. I sighed. My eyes were burning, but I refused to cry. I bit my lip and passed it off as, sorry spoilers, I was sad that Groot died.

"Dude? Are you okay?" Tucker said.

I nodded. "It's just _We are Groot_. Oh my god." I sniffed. Tucker laughed, patting me on the back. "It's okay, we've all cried at Groot." Tucker reassured.

I rolled my eyes. "I didn't cry at Groot." Sam added. "Because you are heartless." Me and Tucker said together, Tucker's voice joking and mine not.

"I'm going to go. Tucker, you coming? I'm your ride!" Sam smiled. Tucker sighed. "Can you be alone?" Tucker asked me. I smiled weakly. "I'll be fine. See you guys tomorrow?" I asked.

"See you tomorrow." Tucker said, leaving the room with Sam close behind. I stared at the blank TV screen for a bit until I felt my resolve crumbling. I-I let my walls down and let _her _in, and she's dating this-this _Ethan?! _

I felt my anger growing inside me, my attention solely on the table in front of me. I walked toward it, looking at the gleaming blade on it. I went to grab it, but instead retracted my hand, falling to the ground in sheer depression.

I'm not a weak person! I shouldn't cry like this.

Even as I told myself this, I felt my tears streaming down my face.

…

I woke up to a blaring alarm. "Congrats! One night has been survived without temptation! At five o'clock today, you will be able to leave the room and head to your house." Sheila's voice was amplified throughout the room.

I glared at the intercom, checking my phone. It was already ten o'clock, so I didn't have that much longer to wait.

_Snowflake [rec] night one bad?_

_Sam [rec] thank you for not freaking out about ethan. I appreciate it. tucker was furious for some reason_

_Tucker [rec] ...are you okay?_

_7893456543 [rec] hi this is hayden. i wanted to ask if, after you got out, if you would still be jacks friend? he cares about you...and i dont want you to forget about him._

I sighed at the text messages. Sam didn't know that I _was _upset about Ethan (dick), Tucker knew I was upset, the first night was terrible, and _of course _I'm going to be Jack's friend still. Jeez.

_Snowflake [sent] it is when you feel like your heart has been ripped out, but otherwise you should be fine. hopefully hayden doesn't break your heart like sam did mine._

_Tucker [sent] nope._

_Hayden Haddock [sent] of course i am._

_Snowflake [rec] I'm on my way._

I smiled faintly as I heard arguing in the hallway. "_Sam I do not think you understand that I want to see him_." I heard Jack's voice through the door.

"_I'm his best friend Jack! You do not get to see him before I do!" _Sam said selfishly.

_Snowflake [sent] show her this. Sam, I do not want to see you today. I just need guy time! (:_

"_SEE! He wants guy time!_" I heard Jack exclaim. I giggled as the door open and a red faced Jack came into the room. "Yeah, this won't be so bad." Jack shrugged.

"I'm surprised that Sheila even let you in." I grinned. Jack laughed.

"I said that you needed me and she was all for it. I think that she is counting this as my time in step five." Jack explained.

"Do you have to stay the night?" I asked. "Yeah. Sheila told me it was a big jump. Hayden will be with me though." Jack shrugged. I nodded.

"...So tell me. Are you okay?" Jack asked. I shook my head.

"Sam has a boyfriend. Ethan." I spat. Jack nodded in shock. "She looked totally into you though?" Jack asked in confusion. I shrugged.

"Guess it was just because I'm like a brother to her." I said, pulling my knees to my chest.

"What's not to love about you?" Jack asked sudden and loud. I looked up, raising my eyebrow.

"What?"

"Look, chicks, and guys to be honest, dig the 'I'm six feet tall' thing." Jack started. I gave him a look.

"What?" I repeated.

"Also! Black hair and blue eyes? Thats like adorable." Jack continued.

"Seriously what are you talking about?"

"Then you have this punk vibe that makes you seriously attractive, and you have experience. Come _on_. I won't lie. If you were gay and I was single, I'd tap that." Jack said.

"What the actual…?"

"And, you have a sensitive side, and a bad boy vibe thats like, _hot_."

"...?"

"So there is no possible way that she shouldn't be jumping your bones." Jack winked.

I just looked at him, a shocked and confused expression on my face.

"What the fuck Jack?" I laughed.

Jack shrugged. "Look. I'm a gay male. I find you attractive. I won't go for you though cause you are like a good friend of mine _and _straight _and _I have a boyfriend." Jack explained.

"...Good to know?" I questioned. Jack nodded.

"Don't tell Hayden though. I love brown hair and green eyes." Jack swooned.

"Great."

"But Black hair and bl-"

"What the hell did I walk into?" Hayden said from the doorway, and amused smile adorning his face. Jack blushed.

"Jack was just telling me if I was gay and he was single that he'd tap me and I don't know how that works." I said.

"...Well...I-Great." Hayden blushed. I looked between the two of them. Jack was rubbing his neck awkwardly, trying to form a sentence and Hayden was just standing there, then I noticed something.

"...Where's your leg?" I asked. Jack stopped and gaped at me. Hayden burst into hysterical laughter. "whAT?" I asked. Jack laughed too.

"...You go from gay sex to _hey where is that dudes leg._" Jack giggled. I blushed.

"I didn't go on the topic of gay sex." I said defensively.

"Yeah you did." Hayden laughed. "It was an incident at an animal shelter. I was rescuing my huge ass wolf dog _thing_ from the pound and it...collapsed on top of me. Lost my foot, not my leg my foot, and my dog lost his leg too. We are a matching pair." Hayden explained. I blushed and nodded, putting my hands over my eyes.

I hadn't remembered relieving my frustration in a way that was destroying myself. Talking to Hayden and Jack (where they explained the embarrassing details of something I didn't want to know about) let me forget about Sam in a healthy way.

I liked remembering. It made me human.

…

"All set?" Sam asked, putting my bag in her trunk. I nodded, looking to Hayden and Jack, who had gotten to come out of the room to say goodbye. "I'll miss you guys." I said. Jack threw his arms around my neck and hugged me tightly. "Skype!" Hayden chipped in. I nodded.

"Be careful, sweetie." Sheila said from next to us.

"If you need anything, call me." Jack said. I nodded. "Thanks buddy." I replied. Jack punched me in the shoulder and walked off with Hayden rushing off with him, his prosthesis hitting the ground with a _clack_.

"Alright, let's go!" Tucker said excitedly. I gulped. I get the afternoon with my best friends, a day to myself, and then I have to return to school on Monday.

Lancer and I had decided to continue our private study sessions. All in all, I didn't know what to expect from school the following week. It was coming faster than expected and I didn't know if I was ready for it.

I had to be ready for it.

Sam drove quickly to her house, Tucker and I clawing the back seat as if it was my _dad _driving.'

I started when I thought of my dad. Would he let me come home? What about the ghost situation?

Sam pulled into her driveway, quickly getting out of the car and running into her house. There was a car parked on the curb. I glared.

"Of course she would bring him to her house the day I come home." I grumbled. Tucker sighed and patted my back. "It'll be fine dude." Tucker said reassuringly. I nodded.

I grabbed my bag and slung it over my shoulder, taking a deep breath. "I wonder if he's going to be a jackass." I mumbled. Tucker laughed. "Probably. She's into guys like that." Tucker nodded.

I rolled my eyes and walked into the house. Sam was pinned up against the wall, furiously making out with some tall guy in a blue sweater and skinny jeans with Sperrys. Sperrys? Jeez, didn't know Sam went for the pretty boy type.

I cleared my throat, staring at them. Sam giggled. "This is Ethan. Ethan, this is my best friend Danny." She said breathlessly. I nodded, holding out my hand. Ethan smiled confidently. "Hello." He shook my hand.

Wow, what a grip. He and Sam went into the living room, sitting in front of the TV that acted like a mirror. I snapped a quick picture of the guy and ran up into the room Sam had set up into mine, right across the hall from hers.

_Snowflake; dude-with-one-leg(; [sent] -attachment- this is ethan….what_

_Snowflake [rec] damn. hes attractive. Hayden isn't he attractive?_

_dude-with-one-leg(; [rec] yeah hes pretty attractive._

_Snowflake; dude-with-one-leg(; [sent] true but why_

_Snowflake [rec] idk man. go eat something. clear your head of everything i guess_

_dude-with-one-leg(; [rec] yeah. jack you should follow his lead._

_Snowflake [rec] :3 love you._

_dude-with-one-leg(; [rec] same._

_Snowflake; dude-with-one-leg(; [sent] love you too jack._

_Snowflake [rec] haTE_

I laughed at them and put away my phone. I looked at the door longingly, wishing Sam would break up with pretty faced boy and come up here and love me.

I frowned, deciding to follow Jack's lead and get some food. I grabbed my wallet that still had a shit ton of money in it and headed to the Nasty Burger.

"I'm going to Nasty Burger. Wanna come?" I shouted. "SURE!" Sam yelled from the couch, leaping up from Ethan's arms and grabbing his hand. "You wanna come babe?" Sam asked, smiling lovingly up at him. I gagged to myself.

"Sure! I could eat." He shrugged. Sam smiled at me and we walked into the street. "Actually, I'll meet you there. I wanna pick up my car." I said. Sam nodded.

"It's at your parents place." Sam said sheepishly. I sighed. "Okay, I'll see you in a bit, here. Order for me." I said, handing them a twenty. Sam nodded and smiled, Ethan dragging her away towards the restaurant.

I walked down the road to my parents house, listening to an explosion happen inside. I winced and knocked on the door, a soot covered mother appearing in front of me. "Danny…" She said shocked.

"Hi. Uh-I just wanted to pick up my car?" I said, rubbing the back of my neck nervously. She nodded in shock, gesturing for me to come in. I obliged and waited in the living room for her to find my keys.

"Jack! Where did you put Danny's car keys?" My mom shouted down. I heard the heavy footsteps of my father come up the stairs. "In the key bowl by the door, wh-" My dad stopped suddenly when he spotted me.

He glared suspiciously. "I thought you were at Other Ways?" He crossed his arms.

"Got out. If you wanna call Sheila, she can vouch, and also say that I am one of her most speedy patients ever. Mr. Lancer can vouch too. Sam and Tucker as well. I'm just gonna, ya know, take my car and leave!" I shouted nervously, running into the door.

"I SHOULD OPEN THE DOOR BEFORE I WALK! HAHA!" I yelled again, opening the door and closing it sharply, rubbing my head where I had hit it.

"Look! Fentonio!" Dash said from across the street. I sighed. I waved sarcastically before running into my car and starting it, putting it into reverse and backing out of the driveway.

"Wait!" Dash yelled angrily, but I was already driving away. I sighed in relief, putting on my seatbelt as a cop glared at me and motioned for me to do so.

I realized it was pointless to drive to the Nasty Burger, as it was five minutes away by _foot_, but I pulled in the parking lot and parked my car. I took a deep breath.

"Hey sorry." I said, sitting down with them. Sam smiled. "Why is your forehead red?" She asked.

"I ran into a door?" I questioned more than stated. Ethan laughed. "I feel."

As we ate, much to my dismay, I found out that Ethan made Sam happy.

I wish I were him.


	13. Chapter 13

I drove Sam and I home while Ethan walked home. "Ethan is nice…" I started awkwardly.

"Isn't he? I don't know why Tucker doesn't like him…" Sam wondered. I tried not to laugh. I knew exactly why he hated him.

"I don't know. Probably because you dropped the bomb yesterday?" I said sarcastically. Sam chuckled. "Yeah, while you were recovering. It was kind of a douche move…" She admitted.

I shrugged. "I don't care." I lied. I did care, for some unknown reason. I cared that she was with someone else and that she was _happy_. I wanted to be happy like that.

"Thank you."

We pulled into her driveway and got out of my car, walking in together. "Did you get settled in okay?" She asked, somewhat awkwardly. I nodded. "Yeah. Room's great. Thanks. Why is so close to yours though?" I asked.

Sam blushed. "So, just in case, I could get to you in time." She mumbled. Oh.

"Oh." I muttered. Did she really think that low of me? I sighed. She probably did, but who could blame her? I _had _just gotten out of rehab that I _probably _should have been in for longer.

But Other Ways isn't known for its successes.

"Well, night." I yawned. Sam smiled. "Night...if you need anything...let me know." She said as her phone started to ring. "Hey you!" She greeted as she closed the door to her bedroom, sparing one more glance at me.

I sighed. This crush thing was getting harder to live with. I decided to take a shower before I went to bed, and was very pleased to see there was one attached to my new room. I grabbed my phone, deciding that I never wanted to know what I said to her all those nights ago.

What I said to her that made her feelings change for me. I quickly deleted all of our conversations and didn't recover them.

I need to move on.

...

After another hour of sitting on the floor and another thirty minutes of actual showering, I shut off the water and wrapped a towel around my waist. I exited the bathroom to see Sam standing there.

"Holy shit!" She screeched, covering her eyes. I blushed vividly, tightening my grip on my towel. "Did you-uh-need something." I said, crossing my arms around my chest, praying to the God above that my towel _did not _fall.

"Yeah. I was worried." She said, averting her eyes everywhere but my body. I blushed harder. "Why?" I asked.

"...you were taking so long in the shower." She mumbled, her cheeks as red as the oval on my old t-shirt.

"Oh…" I said sheepishly. The only thing that was running through my mind was that 'I needed to get over my crush on her' so it was hard to focus on anything in the room but her.

"Okay, well, I'm going to go." She finally said, turning around sharply and leaving the room. I let out a burst of air and grabbed my navy blue boxers and slid them on, discarding the towel on the desk chair behind me.

I went to get under the covers and _finally _go to sleep when I heard a crash from Sam's room. I immediately ran from my room to hers, to find her only in her bra and underwear, holding a broken glass of water.

"Oh…" I said, suddenly feeling my half nakedness. She blushed and crossed her arms.

"I was worried…" I mumbled. She nodded. "Guess we are worried about each other." She said.

My eyes trailed over her pale skin and the stark difference of it to her black underwear. I nodded. "I'm going to go to sleep…?" I said, running into the door and then closing it behind me.

_Don't think of Sam half naked. Do NOT think of Sam half naked. DO NOT THINK OF SAM IN THE NUDE._

I collapsed onto the bed and groaned. "Today has been such a weird day." I said, pulling on a pair of Gryffindor pajama pants (still face down), my voice muffled by the pillows.

The stress of the day weighed down my eyelids and finally, I was in the peaceful darkness of unconsciousness.

…

"_You will never win, Daniel." The dark figure bellowed out, holding Sam in his grasp._

"_I always win." I said, but my face wasn't confident._

"_You didn't win the battle on your mind. You went insane with drug use, alcohol use, and self harm. What makes you think that you are strong enough to beat me?"" He spat. Sam was struggling in his hand. "He's right." She choked out._

"_Sam-wha?" I asked in hurt confusion._

"_She's right." Jack said. "You will never be strong enough to beat him."_

"_I thought you believed in me." I said, tears streaming down my face._

_All around me were my loved ones, shaking their heads sadly at me. The dark figure was laughing, his grip tightening on Sam. I closed my eyes, I didn't want to see this. This had to be a dream. There is no way this is real._

"_I used to, then you turned into someone else." Sam said, the light slipping from her eyes._

"NOOO!" I yelled as I sat up, the world still dark around me.

"Danny?!" The door slammed open. Sam, with no makeup and her hair tied into a messy bun with a black tank top and black spandex, burst into the room, eyes darting wildly around it.

"Are you okay?" She asked gently. I shook my head. "Not really." I shrugged. She smiled and pulled back the covers on the opposite side of me and climbed into bed. I blushed and rubbed the back of my neck. "Wanna tell me about it?" She asked, pulling me into a hug.

"Nah." I said hesitantly. She sighed. "Well okay, but I'm staying here. We are going to cuddle." She said.

"...can I be the little spoon?" I asked tiredly. Sam rolled her eyes. "My hero."

I froze. "...Thats what you dreamed about...isn't it? Me thinking you weren't good enough to be a hero…" Sam whispered in disbelief. I nodded. She took me into her arms and kissed me on the forehead.

"You are the strongest person I have ever met. Got that? You have overcome so much in the short time you have been alive. A man who is said to be a hero lives while he tries to save others from dying. The bravest man I know saved himself when he wanted to die. You. You are my hero, Danny." Sam said, and in her words I could tell she was telling the truth.

"Thank you, Sam." I said, resting my head on her shoulder and burying my face in her neck. I forgot about Ethan and that I wasn't supposed to have her. As I fell asleep, I pretended I already did.

…

"Woah, what did I miss?" I heard as I slowly regained consciousness. "He had a nightmare, Tucker."

I felt nimble fingers brushing the hair away from my face. I kept my breathing even and kept myself in a half asleep state.

"About what?"

"Not being a good enough hero. I think it had to do something with the self-harm and the suicide attempts." Sam explained, still brushing my bangs away from my face.

"You never see him so at ease anymore." I felt the bed dip. "Yeah. I don't wanna have to wake him up everyday for school." Sam laughed quietly.

"Is it weird?" Tucker asked.

"What?"

"Sharing a living space with D-Dog here." Tucker joked. Sam stopped brushing my hair away from my face.

"If by weird you mean 'I-walked-in-on-him-_naked-_in-the-shower' weird, then yes." Sam said.

"OH MY GOD YOU WHAT!"

"SHH!" Sam shushed. I opened my eyes groggily, even though I had been awake for the past couple minutes, and glared. My head was resting on Sam's chest. I started blushing as soon as I opened my eyes,

"Umm…"

"Good morning, sunshine! Tell me of the scandalous thing about Sam walking in on the shower as you rest your head on her boobs." Tucker smirked.

I blushed harder, sitting up in bed. "I took a long time in the shower and she was in the room. I had a towel on. I was fine." I mumbled, rubbing my face. My eyes were still droopy, so I closed them in my hand.

"Dude! Details! What were you doing in the shower? Were you-"

"Nope Nope Nopeity nope nope. Tucker, you are gross." I screeched, opening my eyes just to do so.

Sam smiled with us and then stretched as I laid back down to sleep again. "Danny its twelve thirty." Sam sighed. I shrugged. "I don't care. It's Sunday!" I said.

All of the breath was taken out of my lungs as she jumped and landed on me. Tucker followed in suit. "Wow, thanks." I gasped. "Okay _okay I CAN'T BREATHE!_" I yelled. They laughed and got off me as I got out of bed. I yawned and stretched. "So what do you wanna do today?" I asked groggily.

"I was thinking movie marathon in the basement?" Sam said, examining herself in the mirror.

"Is Ethan coming?" Tucker spat. Sam frowned, but shook her head. "He has a family thing. Tucker, Danny is okay with him, why can't you be?" She accused.

"Danny is _not _okay with that prick!" Tucker yelled.

"...Guys! Tuck, I'm fine with the dude." I said.

Tucker looked at me questioningly, but I shook my head. "I'll tell you later." I mouthed as Sam left the room.

"So, you and Sam cuddled." Tucker asked. I nodded. "Yeah, a little bit." I blushed. Tucker nodded. "Alright. Wanna watch The Avengers?" Tucker smirked, wiping out the disk. I grinned. "_Hell _yes." I high fived him.

We rushed to the basement and popped in the movie. Sam rolled her eyes from the popcorn maker and popped us a couple bags.

We were about halfway into the movie when I got a text.

_Frank [rec] you up for a party tonight?_

I looked to my friends, who were completely engrossed in the movie.

_Frank [sent] idk man...i just got outta rehab._

_Frank [rec] you dont have to drink or anything! I just have a girl I want you to meet._

I sighed, drawing the attention of Sam.

_Frank [sent] sure. but i'm not doing __**anything**_

I smiled and Sam, shrugging. I mouthed 'Jack' and she got the message.

_Snowflake [rec] hey man. i'm going home!_

Speak of the devil.

_Snowflake [sent] stop by sams house! watch avengers with me D:_

_Snowflake [rec] address? :D_

I gave Jack Sam's address and waited not-so-patiently until I heard the doorbell ring. I grinned widely, much to the amusement of Sam and Tucker, who followed me to get the door.

"Jack!" I said. Jack leaped into my arms. "BABY!" He screamed, drawing the attention of people outside. Hayden was with him, scowling playfully.

"Where is your shirt?" Hayden asked, laughing.

"Bitch, I woke up like this." I said, still holding Jack in my arms.

"I swear to God, Jack. If you leave me for this boy I will dump you." Hayden said. Sam and Tucker looked really confused.

"Dude?" Tucker asked. "Long story!" Jack said, kissing my cheek. "JackSON." I screeched, dropping him. "Okay….My best friend is gay." Tucker laughed.

"No. Jack just said that if I _were _gay, then he'd...tap me?" I laughed.

"Yeah. Cause' Danny boy is hot AF. I'm surprised all the girls at your school haven't slept with him." Jack said. "_And some males_." Jack whispered. I rolled my eyes.

"Movies! NOw!" I screamed, dragging everyone down the stairs, where we watched Avengers _again_, and then Rise of the Guardians.

"Jack, its you." I pointed to 'Jack Frost'. Jack rolled his eyes. "No. I'm way more awesome than _that_." Jack said playfully.

"Yeah, and people can see you." Hayden added. "Hayden, you remind me of a cartoon character….the one with the dragon?" Jack said, deep in thought. Hayden nodded.

"Okay, whatever floats your boat. But we have to leave." Hayden said, sadly. Jack pouted. "I'll see you soon?" I offered. Jack nodded.

"I'm going to see my little sister today and I'm excited." Jack supplied, hugging me one last time and then leaving with Hayden. Tucker had left awhile ago, so it was just me and Sam.

"Can I tell you the truth, Sam?" I asked.

She nodded, "Anything!" She said, turning off the TV.

"I'm going to a party tonight, because someone wants me to meet a girl." I said.

"...one have Frank's?" She asked. I nodded. She sighed.

"If you really think that you can handle it, then okay. Call me as soon as you feel like you can't. I'll see you when you get back." She said, going up stairs to clean the dishes.

I released the breath I had held and went upstairs to change into some clothes. I pulled on a black t-shirt and dark wash skinny jeans and black converse. "I'll be back!" I called, grabbing my car keys and heading out the door.

"Oh, hello." A voice said. I turned and saw Ethan waiting in the driveway. "Why are you still here?" He asked, his tone accusing. I narrowed my eyes. "I live here for the time being?" I said confused.

"Hmm….are you related to Sam in anyway?" Ethan asked. I shook my head. "Then I'd advise you get a new place to live." He spat.

"Dude? She's my best friend?" I asked. He shook his head. "I don't care. Sam is _my _girlfriend and I would like to keep it that way." He glared.

"Look here. Sam is my best friend. If you make her happy, so be it but I will not have some good for nothing pretty boy bossing my around. Or would you like me to tell her of your _advice_." I snapped.

"Very well. Keep your hands off her." Ethan said, less demanding but all the same. I nodded. "I'll be back in an hour or two. You better be gone." I warned, and left him on the staircase. I was seething with anger at his audacity. What the fuck bro?

I got into my car and started it, driving off in the direction of Frank's house. I was starting to like this Ethan guy less and less. Living with Sam was a whole new ballgame, and if Ethan wasn't ready….he was going to strike out.

I pulled into Frank's driveway, the music blaring and the same old scene in front of me. I sighed, hoping I didn't find any of my friends in here. I took a deep breath and got out of the car, the smell of alcohol pungent in the air.

I walked into the house and straight into Frank, who wasn't drunk yet. "Hey man." He said sheepishly. I smiled. "What's up?"

"So...I wanted to introduce you to this girl. Her name is Cameron, but I don't know if you'd go for her type." Frank said. I looked at him confused.

"She is well, she's pretty and nice. She's super nice, nothing like Stella. She's wanted to meet you for awhile. She's outside…" Frank rambled. I smiled. "I'll go talk to her I guess. Can't promise anything." I said.

"...She's my sister, so please give her a chance." He said quietly. I gaped and nodded. "What she live under a rock? I never knew you had a sister…" I said. He shrugged.

"She spends a lot of time in her room. I talked about you going to rehab and she said that she wanted to meet you. She's the complete opposite of me, even if she is my twin…" Frank smiled sheepishly.

"You have a twin."

"Yeah."

"A _secret_ twin." I concluded, laughing lightly. "Yeah, I'll go talk to her."

"Great, just...be careful. She's nothing like Stella." Frank said again. "Dude, I was really down when I dated Stella. I _hope _that she's nothing like Stella." I said. Frank nodded.

"Okay…I'm gonna go find someone to dance with." Frank said awkwardly, leaving me to go out the porch and find this girl.

She was leaning against the rail, her back to me. She had long brown hair that went to about the middle of her back. She was wearing a white floral dress with a brown cardigan and white converse.

"Hello." I greeted. She jumped, turning to face me, blushing. "Hi! I'm Cameron." She greeted, holding out her hand. I shook it gently. "Yeah, your brother told me.

"Oh my gosh. He actually told you I was his sister?" Cameron asked. I nodded. "Well...yeah. He told me that you wanted to meet me?" I asked. Her brown eyes flashed with recognition and she smiled sheepishly.

"Yeah...I did. I'm sorry if that's creepy." She apologized. I smiled. "Not at all. Was just a little confused to find out that Frank had a sister." I admitted. She nodded.

"He doesn't like to talk about me much, cause I don't do all the crazy stuff. No drugs, no parties. He usually tells people that he's an only child." She explained. I nodded. She talked with her hands, which was really nice. I loved people who talked with their hands.

"That's kinda weird...I love my sister." I said. Cameron nodded. "I'm not the most ideal sibling for a stoner. Frank is on the bottom of the social food chain, while I'm a nobody. We actually have a couple classes together. I kinda just...sit in the back alone." She explained, blushing.

I frowned. "Well, I'll be sure to hang with you now." I promised. She smiled brightly. "Well I'd appreciate that. I hate my brothers parties." She admitted.

"Well, you can come to my house and we can watch movies?" I asked. She frowned. "But It's a school night." She sighed.

I raised an eyebrow. "Well, guess you'll just have to stay over, as long as you promise not to kill me in my sleep." I said.

She smiled shyly. "Deal."


	14. Chapter 14

"Seatbelt?" I said, buckling my own. Cameron positioned her backpack on the floor near her feet and gave a thumbs up.

"Is this daring?" She asked suddenly as I backed out. I looked at her. "Not really. Why?" I asked.

She frowned. "Well, I've never went home with a guy that I just met." She shrugged. "Actually, never went home with a guy ever…." She laughed. I smiled warmly. "I'm glad I'm the first one." I winked.

She looked away and blushed. I pulled on to Sam's street and looked at her. "You know I'm not taking you home to sleep with you right?" She blushed harder but nodded. "You didn't seem like that kind of guy...you're not, right?" She asked, suddenly shy.

I shook my head. "Never will be, either. I think I dated a girl like that. Well, she wasn't like _that _exactly, but we met two days before we started dating. Found out when we were breaking up that she was only with me to fix me, so I wouldn't think of doing something like that to anyone else." I admitted. She nodded.

Her hands were resting in her lap, clutching her phone which lit up suddenly.

"It's my brother." She sighed, typing on her phone. "He thinks you are deflowering me."

I choked on my own air. "Well, I'm not."

"He said, 'Not yet.' Gosh, I hate my brother. Well I don't hate him but, you know."

"Yeah I know." I nodded. I felt like that all the time to Tucker. I pulled into Sam's driveway. Ethan's car was still there, much to my annoyance.

"Who's that?" Cameron asked. I groaned. "My best friends boyfriend. He's kind of a douche." I said. Cameron nodded. "That's like Frank's friends, besides you." Cameron said.

I nodded along with her. Ethan was looking out Sam's window to me, glaring slightly. "Woah. He looks like a jerk." She frowned, her lips going into a slight pout. I smiled fondly before taking her backpack and exiting the car.

"You didn't have to do that." She said awkwardly. I shrugged. "Wanted to. Just letting you know that I live with my best friend. Her parents are on a company tour thing across the country. She's dating Mr. Pretty boy and I hate him. Any questions?" I asked. She raised her hand jokingly. 

"Yes Cameron?" I said playfully, opening the door.

"More of a statement. She's rich." She laughed. I giggled along with her. "Why do you call him a pretty boy?" She said, looking around the foyer. I shrugged.

"You do realize that _you _are a pretty boy, right?" She laughed. I blushed.

"Not that pretty." I said shyly.

"Prettier." She winked.

Now, Cameron turned out to be one of the coolest girls that I've met. She loves Marvel comics and she's a genius. She is passing AP Chemistry with an A+ and I'm jealous. She loves the Walking Dead and Supernatural. She spends most of her time on Tumblr, which she explained what it was to me.

She listens to all sorts of music, including All Time Low. We jammed for a bit until she got too tired and I led her to guest room. "So I'll wake you up tomorrow?" I asked, leaning against the door frame. She shrugged.

"It will probably be _me_ waking _you _up tomorrow. I'm good at waking up early. I usually wake up around five." She explained. I tucked a piece of her hair behind her ear subconsciously and smiled. "Wake me up around six?" I asked. She nodded.

"Promise!" She smiled cutely. I smiled back.

"Goodnight, Cam." I said.

"Goodnight, Danny." She smiled.

I walked back to my room, hearing the yelling words of Ethan and Sam and shrugging. The first step to getting rid of a crush was to move on.

And that's what I'm going to do.

…

I woke up the next morning to a gentle shaking of my shoulder. "Hey! Wake up sleeping beauty!" Cameron's voice reached my ears. I smiled groggily.

I vowed to learn more about Cameron before dating her, like I had with Stella. I'm not going to kiss her like Stella kissed me. I'm going to take it really slow. Cameron seems like the type of girl who wouldn't go fast in a relationship.

"Danny! It's time for school!" Cameron giggled. I opened one eye and looked at her. She was wearing purple plaid pajamas and a white t-shirt. I rubbed my eyes with my hand.

Her hair was already done and so was her makeup. Her hair was pin-straight down her back with a natural look to her face. "Come on!" She said, her eyebrows furrowing over her eyes. I groaned and sat up, accepting the cup she placed in my hands.

"Sam isn't up yet, should I wake her?" She asked. I shook my head. "No, but you could pick out a shirt for me to wear." I teased. She raised an eyebrow, already holding up a dark blue button up shirt and some dark skinny jeans. "Already done. Hurry up!" She said hastily, getting up and leaving the room.

I laughed at her antics before pulling on the outfit she gave me. I'll be honest, I had no idea that I had this. I laced up my black converse and headed out the door, almost bumping into Cam.

"I'll be honest," She paused, looking me up and down, "I picked it because it matched the dress I chose to wear." She giggled. She was wearing a dark blue dress with a black sweater thing (the kind that goes to your waist) and black sandals.

"You should probably wake up Sam. Her alarm has been going off for about an hour." Cam said, taking the empty coffee cup from my hands and placing it in my bathroom. "I'll get her." I promised, heading towards her room.

She was sleeping with one foot outside of the covers and her hand over her eyes. I chuckled and threw a pillow at her, laughing at her face as she glared at me. "Daniel! What gives?" She yelled. I shrugged.

"Just thought that you wouldn't want to be late to school." I said nonchalantly. Sam immediately jumped up and checked the alarm clock, groaning to herself. "You go ahead, Danny. I'll meet you at school." She said, rushing into her bathroom. I laughed.

"Yeah okay." I said sarcastically, exiting her room. "Ready, Cam?" I asked. She nodded, putting a plate into the dishwasher.

"I hope you don't care that I made myself at home." She smiled sheepishly. I laughed. "Nah, you're good!" I said, grabbing my car keys off the table. "Also going to be late if we don't leave now." I added, running out the door with my backpack. Cameron followed me closely behind, jumping in the car with her backpack slung across her shoulders.

"I love this song!" She mumbled, turning up the radio.

"_If you could take my pulse right now, it would feel just like a sledgehammer!"_

I rolled my eyes at her, changing the station. She pouted.

"I love _half _of your music taste." I smirked.

She smirked. "Not all of us are really emo." She joked. I gaped in mock-hurt. "Oh so thats how it is." I said, pulling up to the school. She nodded.

"It's how it is." She joked. I laughed wholeheartedly, pulling into the school parking lot. I went pale as everyone fixed their gazes on my car, whispering to themselves.

"You'll be fine, Danny." Cam assured from beside me, patting my hand. I nodded, taking a deep breath.

"Alright." I said, exiting the car with Cameron following behind, positioning my backpack on my shoulder. "Want me to walk you to your locker?" I asked quietly. She smiled and nodded.

We walked past vacant stares, including a angry glance from Ms. Stella Hoover. I tried not to look her way as I walked with Cameron. "Stella looks like she hated me."

"She literally cared nothing about my feelings, so I don't give a shit what she thinks about you. It matters what I think. What's your first class?" I asked. She opened her locker.

"AP Chem." She answered, grabbing said book. I smiled. "Not same, but I have that second." I concluded. She smiled, kissing my cheek. "I'll see you at lunch?" She asked hesitantly. I nodded.

"See you then."

We parted ways and I headed to my Adv. English class, with Mr. Lancer. "Good to see you back in the classroom Mr. Fenton!" Lancer greeted excitedly. I smiled, taking my seat silently.

"Look Kwan, the freaks back." I heard a snide voice say. I took a deep breath, my face flushing a deep red.

"Dash, thats not cool…" I heard Kwan whisper back. I heard a slight scoff and more shuffling, but I really wasn't paying any attention except to Lancer, who was teaching about Shakespeare. I felt a wad of paper hit my head and then the desk in front of me. I closed my eyes and breathed in, taking the time to open the paper.

_kill urself (:_

I took in a sharp breath, feeling all the bad thoughts come back into my mind. I raised my hand quickly, but keeping the emotion off my face. "Yes, Mr. Fenton?" Lancer stopped mid lecture.

"Can I go to the bathroom?" I asked. He nodded, his eyes filled with concern. I quickly got up, throwing away the note on the way out and running down the hall to the 'Team Phantom Supply Closet'. I closed the door, locking it behind me, and sunk to the floor.

I rested my head on the tops of my knees. I wasn't ready for this. I wasn't ready for that note or Dash. This is really bad and it's only going to get worse. My life is only going to get worse.

I could always end it.

I took a deep breath and got out my phone, hands shaking as I sent the message that would make or break my decision.

_Sam [sent] i need you._

…

Sam was in the closet ten minutes later, letting me hug her for comfort. "What happened?" She whispered. I shook my head, not wanting to think about it.

"Danny, you can't keep it all bottled up." She urged gently. I sniffed quietly and rubbed my face. "I'm letting Dash get to me, again. I got to stop." I groaned. She shushed me and hugged me tighter. "What did he say?" She asked.

"He told me to-"

"_Daniel Fenton please come to the main office. Daniel Fenton to the main office._" The intercom suddenly interrupted my train of thought. I sighed. "I'll tell you later." I concluded. She sighed in exasperation but let me go anyway.

"Talk to me." She whispered, thinking that I couldn't hear her. I lowered my head and whispered, "I can't."

Today has shown me that I'm not even close to getting over my struggles. Dash still wants me gone, even though I've done nothing to him.

I walked quickly to the office with my head down. Sitting inside was my mother and my father, quietly talking with their arms crossed. I paled visibly and opened the door.

"Ah, Mr. Fenton. Your parents wished to speak with you. Sorry if I am keeping you from your classes, I know you've switched to a more advanced schedule." Principal Ishma apologized. I rubbed my face, crossing my arms around my chest. "No, I can just make it up with Mr. Lancer after school, but thank you." I said, nonchalantly even though I was freaking out inside.

"Alright, well I'll leave you to it." Ishma said, patting my back on the way out. I sat down in front of my parents, shoulders tense and face pale.

"...I apologize Daniel, for kicking you out. You needed love and support and I see that now." My dad started. I took in a sharp breath and let it out slowly.

"Yeah, I did. Kicking me out didn't help at all, but I'm getting better. Slowly." I mumbled. Dad nodded. "Well, if you want, we can allow you back into our home." Dad continued.

I gulped. "I'm good for now."

Mom laughed nervously. "But you don't have anywhere to live?"

"I'm living with Sam at the moment, and there's always a free space at Tuckers house for me. I'll be fine, because I'm not completely better." I said quietly. Mom nodded, standing and hugging me tightly, my dad joining her.

I have never felt so much love from my parents. "We know its hard. Is anyone giving you a hard time?" Mom asked, looking me in my watery eyes. I looked away and tried to calm down but my mom forced me to look at her.

"Dash is, always." I mumbled. Dad's jaw set and he left the room. I sighed. "I should probably get back to class."

"Daniel, you don't have to come back yet." Mr. Lancer said from behind us. I frowned. "Yes I do!"

"Danny, you just got out of therapy. You shouldn't be doing this yet." Mom said. "Why don't you go home?" Lancer offered. I sighed. "Yeah fine. I'm heading to Sam's." I said. Mom nodded.

"Your dad and I love you and you can come over whenever." She said, kissing my cheek. I nodded.

"Thanks mom. See you later Mr. Lancer." I said, waving. I went back to class and got my stuff, ignoring the triumphant look on Dash's face. I swallowed around the lump in my throat and went to my car and sat in there for a while.

_Cam [sent] hey i left school. wasnt feeling well. ill see you tomorrow._

_Cam [rec] aw okay ): feel better soon!_

I sighed and started my car, driving out of the parking lot. My hands were shaking as I pulled onto the road to Sam's house. I parked my car in the driveway and entered the home, my uneasy not resolving at all. I wanted to watch TV, but what if there was something triggering.

I suddenly felt like I was going to sick, so I rushed into my bathroom and threw up the nothing I had eaten today and collapsed by the toilet. My skin itched and fingers twitched, scratching roughly at my skin.

I looked to the razor that was sitting in the sink. My mind went blank as I grabbed it, smashed it with my foot and brought the blade to my skin.

When my mind woke up five cuts later, I was panicking. "Oh my god!" I said. I slipped on the blood on the floor and hit my head on the sink.

My vision was blurry as I scrambled to my feet, feeling the surroundings for my phone. I dialed the number by heart, hyperventilating intensely.

"_Danny, I'm in class. What's wrong._" Sam said in a slightly worried tone.

"I promsie I didn't mean to!" I cried into the phone.

"_Wait, what did you do?_" I heard shuffling and the sound of running as she said this.

"I don't know what happened but there is _blood everywhere_!" I freaked out, rubbing at my still bleeding arms.

"_Danny, calm down!_" I heard a car starting as she reassured me. I was still freaking out and rubbing my wrists. I wasn't passing out, but my veins were still bubbling blood.

"Sammy, there is so much." I cried out, the throbbing getting worse.

"_I know, I know. But I'm here, I'm coming up the stairs._" True to her word, I heard her footsteps coming up the stairs. I stared at my arms as she walked it, but she didn't immediately come to me, she went into the bathroom. I thought that that was because I was invisible somehow but she came back with bandages and peroxide.

I sighed, rubbing at my wrists. I failed again. My hands were slapped away as she cleaned out my wounds, the peroxide making me hiss. She pulled my shirt over my head, and pushed me into her bathroom. "I'm going to clean your bathroom. Please shower." She said. I knew that there was blood everywhere.

I mean, I slipped in it.

I nodded, watching as the door didn't close and stayed open. Sam didn't trust me again. I didn't trust _myself_ again. I showered and got the blood off of my skin and out of my hair. I was handed a towel and Sam helped me out of the shower.

"You are super pale." She said, handing me boxers and pajama pants. I nodded. "I don't know what happened." I admitted.

"I'm glad you called me." Sam admitted. "If you hadn't, that would mean you wouldn't be getting better. I'm just going to turn around, so you can keep talking." She said, turning around so her back faced me.

I quickly put on the clothes and sat back down. She turned around and grabbed the bandages from her dresser and bandaged up my wrists. "Mr. Lancer is coming over later." She sighed. I nodded.

"I feel like he's going to be disappointed in me." I grumbled. She grimaced. "Well, maybe. Tucker might be too. But, that's just because you were so much better. You looked healthier. I hate seeing you so pale." She said, caressing my face. I leaned into the touch and looked into her eyes.

My heart beat faster as we stared at each other, and blushed when she looked away. "...You are still my hero, Danny. Heroes fuck up sometimes, that doesn't mean they aren't who they are though. You are the strongest person I've ever met. Don't forget that." She said with a faint blush on her face, kissing my forehead and exiting the room.

I smiled, knowing that she trusted me enough to leave me alone. I rubbed slightly at my bandaged wrists before looking at the time. Twelve noon. I nodded to myself.

I was pretty wore out from my fall and the cutting, so I took myself to my room and got under the covers, pulling them up so they were under my chin. I slowly closed my eyes.

Sam came in a little bit later with a glass of water and some pain medicine. "Hey, Danny? You awake?"

I nodded sleepily, cracking one eye open and looked at her. She handed me the pills and the water, which I gladly took and drank, and took the glass back when I was done. She stroked my hair for a minute before setting the glass down on the end table and kicked off her shoes, getting under the covers with me.

"Tucker's coming over after school, you can sleep until then." She yawned. I nodded, already feeling the nice comfort of sleep washing over me.

"Thanks Sam." I mumbled into her neck. "You're welcome, Danny. So welcome." She whispered, pulling my body closer to hers.

Within minutes, we were both asleep.

…

_Holy SHIT I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to be away for that long. I just needed a tiny break to get my mind away from other stories that I want to write._

_Thanks for being so patient!  
_

_I also got a new computer which is much faster to type on, tbh. I've almost got all my grades up in school and I've already almost got the new chapter up and typed. _

_Sorry again for not updating! Thanks to all who comment and favorite my story!_

_Sorry for making Danny sort of? relapse, that was a dick move, but DxS fluff near the end there. No, Cameron is still in the picture and Sam isn't just going to dump her boytoy for Danny just yet, but that little hesitation of stroking Danny's hair and then climbing in bed with him was a little thing I'd like to call 'Sam definitely still has feelings for Danny and doesn't know what to do because Ethan.'_

_Same, Sam, Same._

_Thanks for reading!_


	15. Chapter 15

"Guys? Did I miss something?"

Tucker's voice broke through the sleep as I opened my eyes. I was once again being held by Sam, but this time my face _wasn't _in her chest.

"No, but I needed that." I mumbled, unwrapping her arms from around me, but making sure she didn't wake up.

"Are you okay man? Lancer and I were worried about you. He's going to be here in an hour for your study thing." Tucker reminded. I nodded.

"I'm okay now...I was not after I left." I admitted. Tucker knew something was up by the way he was looking at my bandaged wrists.

"Wanna talk about it?" He tested. I sighed. "No, not really, but I will, anyway."

Tucker beamed. "Great." He sat down on the edge of the bed, and it dipped under his weight.

"So, Dash gave me this note that told me to kill myself, and that made me really upset, ya know? I'm still really sensitive and going through some bad shit, and he just _had _to pile more stuff on. So I left class and Sam and I sat in the closet for a little bit, so I could calm down." I told him.

He nodded. "Lancer told me you left first period pretty upset this morning." I nodded. "Dash would be the culprit for that. Anyway, I got called down to the office and my parents were there. They invited me to come back if I was fully healed. I denied- because I'm not- and I won't get the attention I need at home." I confessed. Tucker nodded.

"So, Lancer told me to leave school because I was still upset. I get home, and I instantly get super sick. I threw up, and then my mind went blank. Next thing I know I'm looking at my wrists and there's cuts on them. I didn't even mean to do it! It's like my mind went on overdrive and that's the only thing it knew how to do!" I groaned.

Tucker patted my back. "Sam came here to help you?" He asked. I nodded. "I'm glad you told her."

I nodded. "Yeah, she told me that, too. Oh well, better to be living than to be dead." I mumbled, not knowing if that was true.

Tucker nodded. We both jumped when there was a knock at the door. "Shit! I forgot to warn you Ethan was coming." Tucker winced. I glared at my bedroom door. "Wake Sam up. I've got the door." I hissed.

Tucker gulped. "Maybe I shoul-"

I shot him a glare.

"Nevermind! Waking up Sam." Tucker mumbled, frightened. I pulled on a sweatshirt and made my way down the stairs. I opened the door to see Ethan's smug face that I would like to _punch_.

"Ethan."

"Daniel."

We stared at each other for a good five minutes before Mr. Lancer walked up. "Boys? Is there a problem?" He raised an eyebrow.

Ethan shook his head, a smile adorning his face suddenly. "No, Mister. Just wanting to see my girlfriend."

"Fake ass bitch." I mumbled. Mr. Lancer cleared his throat and stepped up onto the stone steps. "Okay, well, hop to it. Daniel, we have some more lessons to do." Lancer raised an eyebrow at me.

I sighed and walked into the door to let the douche in. Tucker stood on the staircase, nodding to me. "Sam's in her room." Tucker said, waving slightly.

Ethan smiled and thanked him before coming over to me. "I'm going to fuck her tonight." Ethan whispered into my ear before rushing up the stairs. I turned scarlet red with fury and went to chase after him before Lancer grabbed my arm.

"Lessons." He said. I growled at the staircase but followed Mr. Lancer into the dining room. "First things first, are you okay?"

"I'll be okay. Just a little scare today." I said. He nodded. "Just a bump in the road." Lancer agreed.

Then, Lancer proceeded to pull out his Teacher's Edition: AP Chemistry, much to my horror.

…

Lancer left after I had completed a week's worth of homework. "I wouldn't recommend going to school for a couple of days." Lancer said. I nodded. "Wasn't planning on it, to be honest." I admitted.

"Your absences will be excused. Don't worry, Ishma understands. Take all the time you need." Lancer said, placing his hand on my shoulder before walking out the door.

I watched him leave, and instantly felt tired again. Maybe it's because I had hit my head on the sink?

_Cam [rec] hey!_

_Cam[sent] hey_

_Cam [rec] missed you today, i mean we only met yesterday but ya know_

_Cam [sent] yeah i understand (:_

Cameron and I texted for a while until I finally decided to call her.

"_Hi_." She giggled. I smiled, "Hi."

Our conversation stretched on to cover views, what was for lunch, how my day was, how her day was, etc.

"Hey, you wanna go out to eat or something? I'll pick you up." I grumbled, not liking the sounds I was hearing from Sam's room. Cameron giggled.

"_I'd love to._" She said. I hung up and ran into my room, covering my ears, and got dressed into what I was wearing today, running down the stairs, and out the door. I drove out to Frank's house, where Cameron was sitting on the porch in what she was wearing today. She beamed, yelling something inside the house, and ran to my car.

"You good?" She asked worriedly. I nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine. Ethan and Sam are doing _activities _at my house, and I'd rather hang out with you instead of them…" I explained. She nodded.

"Yeah, I know how that is. You did that to me once." She admitted.

"Wait...what?" I gaped, pulling out the driveway. "Yeah, you and this teal haired girl suddenly popped up into my room, and started doing it. I hid in the bathroom the whole time." She admitted. I blushed.

"I was usually fucked up, then." I said. She nodded. "To your innocence, she was totally making you do it. She took advantage of you. Basically raped you." She said.

"I didn't say no."

"You didn't say yes." She defended.

I smiled. "Thanks for defending me." I whispered. 

"Someone has to." She said, a small blush on her cheeks. I pulled into Brendon's, a petite restaurant near my parents house, and got out. She smiled fondly as I cheesily opened her door for her.

"Thank you good sir." She said in a english accent.

"No problem, milady." I smiled, kissing her hand. My phone buzzed in my pocket and as I walked in with Cameron hand-in-hand, I checked it.

_Snowflake [rec] I AM ALSO AT BRENDONS_

_Snowflake [rec] WHO IS THIS CHICK_

_Snowflake [rec] YOU ARE HOLDING HANDS_

I swiveled around and looked everywhere but I didn't see the mysterious white haired idiot.

_Snowflake [rec] im inside you ding dong. come on we can double date!_

I smiled and Cameron looked at me weirdly. "Who are you texting?" She asked hesitantly. "My friend Jackson. He's inside and wants to double date."

"Who is his girlfriend?" Cameron asked, walking in the restaurant.

"Well….he doesn't have a _girlfriend_."

"Danny and pretty lady! Over here!" I heard the fucking idiot screech across the restaurant. The owner, Brendon, glared in his direction.

"Shh!" I spat, looking apologetically at Brendon, who saluted me.

"What's up, Snowflake?" I said, sitting down with Cameron across from Jack and Hayden.

Cameron smiled happily at Hayden, shuffling closer to me.

"We were in town for a mandatory meeting, and we wanted food." Jack said, taking a sip of his Coke. Hayden rolled his eyes.

"Jack got messed up again, and Sheila had some choice words. Now Jack's uncle and him have to move here. Guess who's coming with." Hayden grumbled.

"Yes, Hayden is mad at me." Jack said.

"Try royally pissed off." Hayden spat back. Jack cowered a bit too.

"Hayden, I messed up too. It's normal. Jack and I went through that program really fast." I calmly said, squeezing Cameron's hand tighter. She squeezed back and smiled at Jack.

"Hello. Welcome to Brendons, can I get you something to drink?" A familiar voice said from behind me.

I gulped as Dash came into view. "Oh shit oh shit oh shit." I squeaked quietly.

"Diet Coke for me. What about you, Danny." Cameron said worriedly, squeezing my hand to calm me down. Jack and Hayden looked at me concerned as all the color drained from my face.

"...Diet Coke as well." I spat out quietly. Dash smirked. "And for food?" He added.

Jack started with a, "Giant Hamburger with an extra large fry."

Hayden got a "Slightly less giant hamburger and a small fry."

"I'll just take a Chicken Sandwich and onion rings."

"I'll just have a cheeseburger and fries." I said, head down.

"I'll be right out with your things." Dash's snide voice spoke down at me. I was starting to get upset and I wanted to leave. "Are you okay dude?" Hayden asked me.

I didn't want to ruin my friends time with me, so I swallowed around the sadness. "Yeah. I'm okay. I don't know what happened, haha." I laughed nervously. Cameron raised her eyebrow at me but let it go and we waited for our drinks.

Hayden told us on 'Jacks Royal Screw up' while we waited. Cameron warmed up to them really quick, considering. It turns out that Hayden and Cameron were mutuals on tumblr. They talked about some weird tumblr stuff while Jack and I discussed what happened.

"I didn't even mean to either. It just happened." I explained. Jack pointed his finger in my face. "I got dragged to a party by my friend Aster. I accidentally drank and did drugs! I just happened! I'm glad I'm not the only one!" Jack said relieved.

I tensed back up when Dash came back to the table. He set our drinks down in front of us and smiled at me smugly. "Enjoy your drinks. It'll be another couple minutes on your food." Dash smirked at me, leaving the table.

"Okay, whats up with that guy and you?" Hayden asked, momentarily pausing his conversation with Cameron, whose attention was focused on me.

"Nothing." I lied, grabbing my drink. It didn't look like Diet Coke…..

"Look, obviously something up. You get all weird when you see him." Jack said. I glared, taking a drink of my drink, eyes widening when I realized it wasn't Diet Coke. It was alcohol.

I nearly spit it out on Jack, but held it in my mouth, my face paling. I can't swallow this! I do not want to swallow this at all!

"Danny? What's wrong?" Cameron asked, trying to get me to swallow the drink. Hayden took the cup and smelled it and immediately got up to Brendon, waving his arms around angrily. I spit it out into my hand and rubbed it on my pants.

"Wasn't Diet Coke, by the way." I coughed. Jack sighed. "Alcohol? Can you tell us what your deal is with that guy?" Jack asked.

I sighed. "Today was my first day back to school since rehab. I knew it was going to be hard, I just didn't think that Dash would send a note my way telling me to kill myself." I said. Jack and Cameron's eyes widened and jaws dropped.

"He did what?" Cameron demanded. The teen in question came out with our food and set it at our table.

"Dash Baxter!" Brendon demanded. Dash looked at me in shock. "You snitched? You are supposed to take it! You little freak!"

"Dash, this boy has been through enough! You don't have to make his life a living hell!" Brendon said, setting a Diet Coke on the table. "I'm so sorry about that. Dash, you're fired!" Brendon spat.

"But my car!" Dash whined. I winced. I was so going to get it.

"You're dead, Fenton!" Dash glared evilly, lifting me up by my shirt. "You took away my job you useless piece of shit!" He spat in my face.

And in that moment, I realized that I'd had enough. My eyes, probably, turned neon green and I flung my foot into his ribcage, making him release me in one blow.

"hoLY SHIT!" Jack cheered. Hayden hit him over the head but made no move to stop me. Cameron gasped and exited the booth, standing over Hayden and Jack.

"You don't get to call me a worthless piece of shit. You don't know what I've been through and what I got through! You can take your sorry ass out the door before I kick your teeth in." I snarled, my eyes glowing green.

It was probably too risky to get mad like that, but it worked because Dash was running out the door in negative three seconds.

Cameron smiled in surprise, sitting back down. Jack was laughing his ass off while Hayden was staring in awe. "Sorry about that Mr. Fenton. Do you need anything else?"

I smiled. "No, not at the moment."

…

Cameron and I departed from the restaurant sometime after we finished our food.

"You could've easily taken him." Cameron said. I nodded.

"I didn't want to give him the satisfaction." I admitted, turning my head slightly to look at her. Cameron smiled at me from the passenger.

"...it was like you were a hero. I was so proud that you faced him like that." Cameron said. I smiled.

I pulled into Sam's driveway. "Do you wanna go home or?" I asked. She shook her head.

"I wanna stay here and learn more stuff about you." Cameron said, and even though she said so innocent, I blushed.

"Stella had a completely different method of getting to know me." I said, awkwardly, rubbing the back of my neck as I shut off the car. She smiled.

"Well, I can promise you that whatever she did, I will do the opposite. What did she do?"

"She, uh, had sex with me?" I said awkwardly. She choked. "This girl isn't so nice, is she?"

"Like I said, wanted to fix me and had unorthodox methods for doing so." I explained. Cameron nodded, then smiled and hopped out of the car.

I walked out of the car and walked to the door with her. Before I opened the door, she grabbed my hand, looking me closely in the eyes. I watched her as she gently placed her hands on my face and moved closer towards me.

I close my eyes as her lips touched mine. Cameron gently pressed closer and pulled away, smiling shyly and biting her lip.

"That was pretty great." She laughed, her hands moving to rest on my shoulders. I laughed with her and brought my lips back to hers, moving my hands to her waist.

We just kissed for a couple minutes, closed mouths, on Sam's front porch.

You know, until the door opened.

"Oh…" A disappointed sigh sounded from the door. Cameron and I pulled away quickly, still smiling.

"Hey Sam." I said, nonchalantly. Sam forced a smile. Why is she forcing smiles? Why is she upset?

Cameron sensed the tension. "Hey, I'm going to call my brother to come get me from Circle K. I'll see you tomorrow." She kissed me one more time and then jogged away.

"Whats wrong?" I asked, concerned. Why was she suddenly so upset?

"Well, after we had sex, Ethan broke up with me." She said. My mouth dropped open.

"What?" I said, pulling her into my chest. That little motherfucker.

"I was apparently just his booty call, and only stayed longer because he got on your nerves...and I thought that you…." She trailed off. I let go and held her shoulders.

Tears were swimming in her eyes, and hurt was laced in them. "That I what?"

"Nothing...just something you said a long time ago." She said, wiping her eyes. "You do realize you've known that girl for two days." She said.

I frowned. "Yes, and?"

"Last time that you liked a girl for two days, you got your heartbroken!" She said, anger lacing her tone.

Her eyes were sad, angry, and….jealous? That couldn't be right. Sam isn't jealous of Cameron.

"Sam, look. Cam is different."

"Cam?" She demanded. I stepped back. "What the hell is your deal?" I demanded. She pointed her finger at me. "My deal is you! And you are still too dense to figure it out!" She yelled, crossing her arms across her chest.

"...Just let me be happy!" I said, hurt crossing over my features. She stepped back.

"Let me!" She said, her voice still angry.

"...Why are….what's...Fuck you, Sam." I said at last. She shot her head up at me, like I shot her. Her anger dissipated suddenly and she sighed, stepping forward.

"Don't fucking come near me." I spat, running up the stairs and slamming the door to my room. I thought about leaving for my parents, but decided against it, since I hadn't completely forgiven them.

What was Sam's deal? Why does she get like this everytime I'm happy with a girl?

My mind wandered to the unopened text message I sent to her a long time ago. Something that changed her thoughts about me. I wish I hadn't deleted it, because my curiosity was getting the best of me.

I couldn't go ask Sam either, because I'm mad and she would probably deny me anyway. The only person that I could ask would be Tucker.

I _have _to ask Tucker.

_Tucker [sent] what did i tell sam_

_Tucker [rec] lol what?_

_Tucker [sent] what was the text message that i sent her that was such a big deal that was longer than everybody elses?_

_Tucker [rec] ...oh...i think you should ask her, bud._

_Tucker [sent] i cant ask her! im mad at her! come on dude!_

_Tucker [rec] its not my place, danny._

_Tucker [sent] …_

_Tucker [sent] fine. whatever. bye._

I groaned in frustration as I threw my phone across the room. I'm happy with a girl?

My mind wandered to the unopened text message that I had sent to Sam. It had to be what was ever on that. She didn't start acting weird till after that

She did get an I-told-you-so for Stella, but what did she have against Cameron?

And I can't ask her about it, since I'm mad at her and she wouldn't tell me anyway...

...Tucker probably knows.

_Tucker [sent] what did I send to Sam?_

_Tucker [rec] lol what?_

_Tucker [sent] the night she found me. I sent her a text? What was on it. _

_Tucker [rec] oh. _

_Tucker [rec] that's not really my place. You should ask her?_

_Tucker [sent] I can't. We are fighting right now and she wouldn't tell me anyway. _

_Tucker [rec] well I'm sorry, but it's not my place to tell you :/_

_Tucker [sent] fine whatever_

I groaned in frustration and threw my phone across the room. I laced my fingers in to my hair and pulled slightly. I let go and finally decided to take a shower.

I went into my bathroom, stripped down, turned on the water, and got inside.

I stood there, water dripping into my eyes and thought about my approach to Sam.

Obviously, what I'm doing now wasn't good enough, judging by the crying coming from her room.

'She probably wasn't crying about me.' I thought as I scrubbed my hair.

'She probably wouldn't even miss you.' My mind told me. I shut my eyes tightly, letting the soap rinse from my hair.

I couldn't have these thoughts again. I was getting better. Sam liked me when I was better. I sighed, turning off the water and exiting the shower.

I dried off and put on pajama pants, wanting to just get into bed, but the guilt of what I had said to Sam weighed over my actions.

I plugged in my phone and saw the notification.

_One New Message: Tucker_

I held my breath, biting my lip as I slid my thumb over the screen to unlock my phone.

_Tucker [rec] ...you told her you loved her. _

And everything I knew came crashing down.

Sam knew that I loved her. She knew and she kept that to herself? She still dated Ethan, but got jealous when I dated other girls?

Because I don't remember sending the message.

I dropped the phone and my eyes widened. My feet took me to where I wanted to go.

Sam was wiping her eyes when I came in, her hair damp and her face free of make up.

"You knew." I whispered. She looked up in shock, a steady trail of tears down her face.

This Sam was different. My Sam didn't cry.

"Knew what?" She asked, her voice confused.

"...that I loved you." I said. She stood up suddenly. "You remember?" She gasped.

"I had help." I said, walking up to her. I closed my fingers around hers. "So...?"

I brought her closer to me, my face suddenly hurt. "So why didn't you tell me?" I asked.

"You were so happy with Stella at the time..." She whispered.

"I'm happy with Cameron now." I muttered. She sighed.

"I know." She said. "I just...I need-I need you to pretend for one night that we could work. That nothing would get in our way." She said, her face close to mine.

I blushed but nodded. "That there was no Cameron, Ethan, or Stella." I added.

She nodded. "Just us." She said, wrapping her arms around my neck. I transformed suddenly, much to her surprise, but she brushed my hair away from my face.

"Fly with me?" I whispered.

"Always." She whispered back, holding on tight as I took off into the air.

I finally pressed my lips to hers as we floated there, above where our problems were.

We flew past Cameron's house, Stella's house, and landed on the roof of Tucker's, our lips never leaving the others.

We just flew for the whole night, and watched as the sun rose above the horizon. I laced our fingers together and leaned my head against hers.

One thing I knew for sure, was that the moment our lips met, my mind was blank.

A good kind of blank.


	16. Chapter 16

"So, now that the suns up...we are done?" I asked. She nodded. I sighed, running my fingers through my hair.

"I just got out of a relationship and you just got into one. We had one special night, but that's over now." She said.

"Danny." She said again. I looked at her confused.

"Danny." She repeated.

"What?" I asked.

"Danny!" Her voice came out muffled.

…

"Danny. Jesus! Wake up!" I heard, the first thing I noticed was that I was really cold.

"Thank god." Sam said. I groaned.

"What? What happened?" I asked. Sam bit her lip. The room was dark and the clock read that it was two a.m.

"...flying…?" I asked, my teeth chattering together. Sam blushed. "Danny….you fell in the shower. When you slipped in the blood, you hit your head and I think you got a concussion. You fainted, and I didn't realize until the shower had been running for a while." Sam explained.

"So we didn't go flying?" I asked again. "No...why? Is that what you remember? Danny, you were dreaming. I think you have a concussion." Sam said.

My heart fell as I realized that I never got to kiss Sam. ...So what did the text message really say? Did it say that I loved her? Sam was still blushing when I realized that she had to drag me out of the shower and...I'm only wearing a towel.

"I got out a sweater and some sweat pants, but I think that we should go to the hospital…" Sam said, running her fingers through her hair. It was dry, unlike in my dream. Her face was bare of makeup though.

"I don't think thats necessary." I shivered, my animosity returning, but it was hard to be mad at her when I thought that we had already made up. And made out apparently.

"Danny. I don't want to fight anymore." She said. I stood, my legs almost giving out underneath me. "I don't either. I just want to change, so.." I shooed her out of the room with my hands. She raised an eyebrow and shook her head.

"I'm staying here, to make sure you don't hurt yourself." She said sarcastically. I looked at her incredulously. "Really." I said.

"Really." She countered.

"If you insist, I guess." I said, awkwardly. I moved a dresser in front of my body to cover any private areas and unwrapped the towel from my waist. Sam was watching me intently, throwing me some clothes. I blushed and pulled the clothes on and moved the dresser back. I flopped back onto the bed and sighed.

"...Are you sure you don't want to go to the hospital?" She asked. I gave her a look.

"I've honestly had worse fighting-" I was cut off as my ghost sense escape my mouth. Sam stood suddenly, looking at me worried.

"Ghosts." We both finished. I heard screams and crashes immediately following the sound of horses galloping. "Fright Knight." I whispered, scrambling to the window.

"Danny….are you gonna?" Sam asked hesitantly. I nodded. "I've been gone long enough, I suppose." I concluded.

I transformed and phased through the roof, taking in my surroundings. I saw my parents fighting off the Fright Knight, but they were losing badly. I hid behind a chimney and watched the scene.

"I need Daniel Phantom." The Fright Knight said, holding a small child in the air. The child was flailing around and screaming for his mother.

"I don't know if you've noticed, but he's obviously gone." A random bystander screamed out. I winced.

"He's only been on mandatory medical leave. I'm sure this will get him to come out." Fright Knight smirked, holding his blade to the small boys wrist.

"Oh fuck." I whispered, falling into the alley as he cut the boys arm. I pushed past people.

"Okay! Okay! STOP!" I screamed out, catching the boy as he dropped him. The boy clung to my neck, and I could feel the blood seeping into my jumpsuit.

"What do you want?" I questioned, wrapping an arm around the boy protectively. "Oh, I have a message." He said, smirking evilly.

"A message from who?" I asked, confused. I put the boy down and he ran to his mom, who smiled in relief, holding his injured arm. "You'll see my boy. It's all part of the plan." Fright Knight said holding out a scroll. I gently took it and raised an eyebrow at him.

The Knight motioned towards the scroll, a smile slowly dancing across his face. I shrugged, thinking nothing of it and opened the scroll.

Inside...was, well. I figured out what the scroll was.

I fell to the floor, holding my head and screaming. The people around me rushed to my side, only to be stopped by the Fright Knight. I felt knives cutting my skin and chemicals disintegrating my insides, even if it wasn't real.

"This scroll, lets you live how you died." The Fright Knight explained.

That explains why I'm twitching like I'm being electrocuted. "My new master demanded me give it to the boy, because the boy has died twice. Half died once and stopped breathing a second time." The Knight explained.

I went to stand, only to be stabbed the stomach by the Knights sword. "I'm not finished. It's rude to interrupt."

The pain in my abdomen increased as I tried to pull out the sword, so I just laid on my back as tears streamed down my face. Sam was suddenly outside, Tucker next to her, and tried to get to my side.

"Ms. Manson, I will not tell you a second time." The Fright Knight snapped. She stopped, but held her glare.

"...as I was saying. The first time that he died was by electrocution, which gave him his powers." He started.

"You son of a bitch." I spat, spitting blood out onto the pavement. The blood was red, instead of green, which caught the eye of the bystanders.

"I will not tell you the second death, for it will give it away. I'm here to tell you, Mr. Phantom, to watch your back. He _will _claim you, and he is coming." The Fright Knight said, pulling the sword out of my body and riding away. I stayed laying on the ground in pain, Sam and Tucker finally making it to my side.

"Why are there so many people out at two a.m?" I groaned out, chuckling even though I could taste the metallic taste of blood on my lips.

"...Should we call an ambulance?" A person asked and the street went quiet. I couldn't answer though, because I was too busy coughing up my small intestines.

"Alright so listen up! Obviously, Phantom isn't a full ghost. Who he is doesn't matter considering that he is literally lying in his own pool of blood and _still _cracking jokes. Our hero is alive and back and we need to help him stay that way!" Dash Baxter suddenly yelled, which was very ironic that I started laughing.

"Thats hilarious." I groaned, getting to my feet. "Is it just because I'm a hero? If I was just some regular person on the street would you care then?" I spat out. Dash stepped back, looking confused.

"...I'm going to set one thing straight here, okay? The human that I am, none of you give a shit about. I'm not some popular jock that has a secret identity. I'm a dork and a loser and none of you cared before. Why should you now?" I said, holding my stomach.

"Especially you, Dash." I glared and turned to walk away. Sam and Tucker came up behind me to help me but I flinched away from them. "You guys didn't care either." I said. I didn't know what was happening to me. I couldn't stop talking and I'm going to give something away.

"Tucker, do you know anything else about that scroll?" Sam asked, panicked. I turned to continue walking away. When a jolt of pain made its way through my body.

'_You are a disgrace of a human being. You don't deserve to be alive._' A voice in my head said. I frowned itched my arm, feeling the emptyness start to dig its way through my skull.

"...I don't know anything about it! I'm putting together stuff the fright knight said! Danny can you please wait?!" Tucker said, but I was already kicking into the air and flying away.

...

I landed in the graveyard, though I wasn't sure why. I spit out some blood into the grass, laying my arm gingerly over my abdomen. Anger still surged through my veins when I thought of what Dash said. After everything he did...I just wanted to-

"Kill him?" A voice said from behind me. I turned around suddenly, caught off guard, to come face to face to a teenage boy with black hair and yellow eyes.

"Oh, I'm sorry. You can continue your internal rant about murder like I'm not here." He smirked, floating up into the tree and sitting down. I was suddenly aware of how weak I was, and took a step back.

"Who are you?" I asked, suspicious.

"I am the ghost of Depression, which is why they call me D." He smiled, hanging upside down in the tree. I raised an eyebrow.

"You don't look very sad." I concluded. He nodded.

"I feed off of others depression so that I am not sad. I am pretty good right now because I'm feeding off of you." He answered.

I narrowed my eyes. "So you are a Spectra?" I asked.

He immediately got into my face when I said that, like he was offended. "I am not like that stupid woman, never call me that again." He hissed, and I had no choice but to cower. He is obviously stronger than me.

"Okay, then explain why you feed on emotions!" I accused. He sighed.

"Unlike spectra, who feeds on general misery, I feed on really bad depression. Suicide bad." D explained. I nodded.

"It depends how you die, what kind of ghost you will become. I killed myself when I was human. I was tired of living in the shadow of my friends and how they were perfect, so I ended it. So now, to insure that I won't feel that sadness anymore, I feed on depression. And if one of my victims kills him or herself, they become part of my army, helping me collect souls to stay happy." D finished.

I sighed. "So you are targeting me then?" I asked. D nodded.

"I was very angry when you kept failing, and even more so when you got better. So I sent away the soldier that was making you worse and decided to take thing into my own hands." He said, suddenly smirking evilly and shooting a dark blue ectoblast at my chest.

I gasped, feeling a cold sadness seep into my very core, and my eyelids droop in exhaustion. "When you wake up, you will be worse than you ever were before." D said, whispering as he took me into his arms and flew off into the pale blue of early morning.

...

"Danny? Oh thank god?" Sam's voice suddenly swam through my subconciousness. I groaned as I opened my eyes, a weight on my chest feeling like one thousand pounds.

"What happened?" I asked, not recalling the last couple hours at all. Probably because I was sleeping.

"...do you not remember what happened after the fight with the Fright Knight?" Tucker asked, appearing at the doorway.

"What fight with the Fright Knight?" I asked. Tucker and Sam looked at each other. "The one at 2 a.m?" Sam reiterated.

I raised my eyebrow. "Sam, I think you are going slightly insane. There was no fight with the Fright Knight." I said.

She gaped at me but closed her jaw, her eyes resolving in defeat. "Must've been a dream." She muttered. Tucker looked like he was about to protest but she cut him off. "It's time to get ready for school, Tuck. I'll see you later Danny." She smiled sadly at me before leaving the room and closing the door behind her.

I laid back down in bed, running my fingers through my hair and sighing. I felt really sad today. Really _really _sad. "Nothing I haven't felt before," I said to myself, "Just have to get up and face the day head on."

I heard the front door close and knew that my friends were gone. I got out my phone, sending out a good morning text to Cameron, smiling to myself as I hopped out of bed. I drew open the curtains and tried to forget about the darkness making its way to the front of my mind. If I don't think about it, it will leave me alone.

_Cam [rec] good morning (: how are you feeling? I miss you _

_Cam [sent] feeling pretty normal so far. imma go to the school to meet you for lunch, k? then you can tell me all about how lucky i am to be away from it (;_

_Cam [rec] h8 u (;_

I giggled to myself, deciding to take a shower and grab something to eat, then work on some homework. Some things to keep me busy. I ran the shower water and took off my clothes, running my hand over a pale part of my stomach, like a scar. I raised an eyebrow at myself in the mirror. "Wonder where that came from." I muttered, before getting into the shower, eyeing the blade that sat on the soap bar holder.

I picked it up and ran my thumb over the sharp edges, about to bring it to my skin when I came to my senses. "What am I doing?" I whispered, placing it back where I had gotten it and focused on cleaning my body.

After I rinsed the soap out of my hair, I turned off the water and shook my head like a dog. I grabbed a towel off of the rack and wrapped it around my waist, exiting to my room. I got out some black skinny jeans and a gray and black striped t-shirt, not forgetting boxers, and pulled them on, shaking the towel into my hair to dry it.

After my hair wasn't so wet, I made my way downstairs and made some eggs for breakfast. As I was putting them on a plate, my phone vibrated.

_Cam [rec] you arent missing much at school today...people are just discussing the ghost fight_

I lowered my eyebrows in confusion.

_Cam [sent] what ghost fight?_

_Cam [rec] youre kidding right? its all over the news. phantom isnt a full ghost! have you really not heard anything about this?_

I panicked. What? Something happened to me last night that I don't remember... and Sam lied to me again. As usual. I rolled my eyes, but bit my lip, thinking of a reply.

_Cam [sent] phantom is a ghost, how can you not be a full one?_

_Cam [rec] i have no idea, but apparently, he isnt apart of the cool crowd...so it must be somebody close to the nerd social group._

'_Wow, what a strike to my dignity.' _I thought, raising my eyes to the ceiling in annoyance.

_Cam [sent] tell me more at lunch? when is yours?_

_Cam [rec[ 12 on the dot. ill see you in a couple hours (: now for pre-calc :|_

I laughed to myself for a minute, happy that I didn't have to go through that torture, then I went to eat my eggs, which were crunchy and cold. I am not the best cook, but I didn't get breakfast with Sam today, which that fact by itself meant that it was going to be barely edible.

I spent the next hour doing some homework and trying to teach myself some of the new stuff, but it was hard to think about when I was thinking about Cam. I wanted to make her my girlfriend, which is bad because met not that long ago… We've been on a date already...so that means I can at least ask her...right?

I've never asked a girl out before. Stella and I's relationship kinda just happened. I never got her anything special because what we had wasn't that special, to her anyway. She never wanted anything and only wanted to get _me _stuff. Now I know why.

I summoned some of my ice powers and made an ice heart on a chain, heating it with some ectoplasm to make ghost metal. I held it in my hands and smiled, adding a D in the middle of the heart. This is what I'm gonna use to ask out Cam with, because she is too special to let slip away.

I had put it into my pocket when the door rang. I checked the time in a panic, but let out a breath of relief when it was only eleven. I raised my eyebrow in suspicion, eyeing the door.

I opened it apprehensively, making sure to have my powers on the ready in case I needed them. On the other side of the door was a boy around my age, a little shorter than me, with shaggy black hair and yellow eyes.

"Can I help you?" I asked shortly, not in the mood for games. He smiled weakly and took a slight step back. "Hi, I'm Dylan, or D for short. Can you tell me where Casper High is? I'm new in town."

His questioned seemed innocent enough,but there was something else in his eyes...something evil. I rolled my eyes internally at myself. I'm too paranoid. I see a new kid and think that he wants to kill me. Splendid.

"Yeah, I'm getting ready to go meet my girlfriend there. I can take you if you want." I said, feeling my back pocket for my phone and the necklace. He nodded in gratitude, but his smile seemed familiar.

"Do I know you?" I asked suddenly. In his eyes flashed shock, but he shook his head. "No, I've never been here before, just moved in recently." He said quickly.

I nodded and closed the door behind me. "Come on, get in my car." I said, hopping in the drivers side. He got into the passenger and thanked me again. I just shrugged it off and drove towards the school, with the odd feeling that I had met D before.


	17. Chapter 17

"So…Danny, tell me about your girlfriend." Dylan said awkwardly. I blushed and shrugged. "I don't know, she is so different from my first one. Her name is Cameron."

Dylan froze but shook it off, smiling tightly and nodding. "…Who was your first girlfriend?" He asked. "Stella Hoover. She was….she was something. I loved her." I told him. For some reason, D made me want to tell him everything, even my darkest secrets.

"Sounds nice."

"All she wanted to do was fix me, and at the time, I didn't want to be fixed." I said, turning on the road to get to Casper. D nodded. "I never want to be fixed...partying all the time is too fun to give up." D said, turning his attention to me.

"…How did you know that I—"

"Well, thanks for the ride Danny. I'll be sure to hit you up sometime. Bye!" D said, practically leaping from my car, his yellow eyes flashing with mischief. I swear to God that I had met him before….but where?

I sighed and shrugged. I wasn't going to figure anything out just sitting here thinking about it. I got out of my car and locked it, turning my attention to the picnic tables spread out. Cameron was sitting at one alone, waiting for me. Sam and Tucker turned and smiled in my direction waving me over, but I simply shook my head and went towards Cameron.

"Hey Cam." I said, sitting down next to her. She looked up and smiled instantly. "Hey you! How are you feeling? Sam told me about you slipping and hitting your head on the skin." She said, her lips frowning in worry. I smiled, taking her hand. 

"I'm fine. Just a little blood. That's it." I assured her. She didn't look convinced but she let it slide. The necklace suddenly felt really cold in my back pocket, so I swallowed around my nervousness and sighed. "So, tell me about this ghost fight? I've been wanting to hear about it." I said.

Her eyes brightened. "It was really weird! Phantom saved a little boy, who was being cut by this knight ghost, and read this scroll that made him feel how he died. Then the Fright Knight revealed that Phantom was only part ghost. He got really mad whenever Dash tried to help him, and revealed that he was a loser!" Cameron beamed.

Ouch.

The hurt probably showed on my face. "…are you okay?" She asked, hesitantly. "Oh, yeah fine! Just a headache." I said. She nodded and dug into her salad, which I picked out of too. Dash was looking at me funny from across the yard and I glared back at him, making him turn straight to his food.

"So, what happened with you today?" She said around a mouthful of lettuce. "I just laid around, did some homework, met this guy named Dylan." She froze.

"…was it something that I said?" I asked. She shook her head. "No, no. It's just, Frank and my older brother's name was Dylan. He killed himself a couple years ago." She said softly. I pressed my lips together and hugged her. "I'm sorry." I whispered. "No, it was a long time ago. It's just been awhile since I've heard the name Dylan." She laughed.

I sighed. "…I have something that will make you feel better!" I whispered, nudging her gently. I reached into my back pocket and pulled out the necklace, placing it into her hands.

"Oh my gosh." She said, running a finger over the D. "So…do you wanna be my girlfriend, maybe?" I asked nervously. She nodded quickly, putting on the necklace and kissing me softly on the lips. "I would love to be your girlfriend." She said. I smiled widely.

"But…" She continued. My smile dropped. "…we have only known each other for a few days….I don't want to start anything serious until we fully know each other." She smiled sadly. I nodded. "Yeah that's fine! No problem. Starting tonight?" I asked. She winced and looked up to me with sad eyes.

"My parents are coming home tonight and want to spend quality time with me and my brother…tomorrow though. Definitely tomorrow!" She smiled, kissing my cheek once again. "I am keeping the necklace though. It's cute and it says that I am talking to someone." She grinned. I chuckled lightly, even though I was kind of bummed.

I shouldn't blame her. My first relationship started out odd, with us kissing the first day that we met. Not all of my relationships are going to be like that. I shouldn't blame Cameron…

I couldn't help but wish she had said yes though. Sam was right, I don't know anything about her.

Cameron finished her salad and smiled at me. "I think I'm going to go back home and get some sleep. I'm starting to feel really dizzy." I lied. Her eyebrows furrowed in concern and she nodded. "Of course." She whispered, kissing my forehead and getting up.

"I'll see you tomorrow. Or I'll text you. Either one." She promised, turning and leaving to throw away her trash. I sighed sadly and got up, making my way towards my car. D was sitting on a tree, glancing in my direction. I waved at him slightly and continued towards my car, getting in it and driving away from the school.

When I got to Sam's house, I immediately went into my room and laid down on my sheets, taking a deep breath. No girl really wants to be with me. Stella didn't, Sam doesn't, Cameron isn't ready for it. I took another shaky breath, but when I did, my ghost sense sounded.

I sat up quickly, coming face to face with a ghost with yellow eyes and a black hoodie. "You are right." It whispered, its voice sounding like many voices at once.

"…What do you mean?" I whispered back.

"No girl wants to be with you. Why would anyone want to be with you? You are only a freak of nature, a thing that shouldn't exist. No wonder my master wants you on his army. Nobody wants to deal with a freak." It spat. I narrowed my eyes.

I transformed and hurtled it out of the room, into the street. "You can't say that about me." I spat. "You know nothing about me!" I said.

It grinned widely, grabbing me by the neck and throwing me across town, into the courtyard of the school. 

"Why can't I? All I'm saying is the truth. You fail at everything and you accomplish nothing. The only thing you are good at is pushing people away." It said.

It's right...everything it is saying is true. My eyes burned suddenly and I felt depressed.

"Feeling sad is a good thing." It said standing in front of me. "There is always another way out…" It said, looking at me with a gleam in its eyes. It held out its hand and in it was a razor. My eyes widened and I went to fly away, only to fall to the ground.

"…What are you doing to me?!" I shouted. "You can't get away from your problems by flying away, Danny!" It cackled. I went to shoot an ectoblast while it was distracted, but nothing was working! My powers were gone!

Instead of facing it head on, I ran. I ran through the doors and into the school, past confused people shouting my name. Past Cameron who still had on the necklace. I had to get away from it. It was doing something to me.

I had no desire to go back down the road it was steadily forcing me down.

I ran into the gym, where Sam and Tucker were currently stretching. Where Sam and Tucker immediately stood up. I went to say something, but I was pushed forward into the wall, the _thing _holding me there.

"Students! Get on the wall! Sam, call Mr. and Mrs. Fenton."

"_My master wants you for his army, do you understand? He wants you either dead or alive, and I intend on bringing you to him. Someday. You probably should watch your back._" It whispered in my ear. There was panic all around, and I couldn't breathe.

"Go to hell." I spat. It glared and forced me to the ground. "You may not be as willing as I thought you would be. You are strong, I give you that." It said, bringing out a blade from its jacket.

"If you don't want to start the habit again on your own, fine. I'll just make you do it." It said, pushing my jumpsuit sleeve up and pressing the blade into the pale skin below it. I screamed and tried to kick the thing off of me, but it wouldn't budge. "No, feel the pain. Want the pain. You _want _this." It said, forcing me to look it in the eyes.

"Sam? Tucker? What's going on?" I heard my parents say into the room.

"There's a ghost, and its hurting Phantom! It's doing something to him!" Sam explained hurriedly, pointing to the scene. My eyes were forced back to the yellow ones, which seemed to be swirling.

"You _want _to do this. You _want _to feel the pain." It said, still digging the blade into my skin.

"I-I want to do this. I want to feel the pain." I said. I could feel the gasp. "Tuck, it has mind control. We need to get them apart." I heard a voice say.

"We got this." A voice of authority said. Suddenly the ghost was ripped from me, the blade cutting further into my skin, much to my relief.

The ghost blasted the people in the bright jumpsuits and came back to me. "You will not remember." It said, disappearing.

Everything went black.

…

"Phantom?! Phantom!" I was shaken awake. My hair was white, so I was in Phantom form…in the school gym.

"What?" I groaned, pushing the hands away from me. A sharp pain in my arm forced my eyes open. My parents were standing over me, as was an entire group of classmates. Sam, Tucker, Dash, Kwan, Paulina, Val and others.

"Ow." I hissed. "What's going on?" I asked, confused. My parents looked at each other. "We need for you to tell us what happened after the fight with the Fright Knight." My mom said. I looked at her. "This isn't a time to be funny or hard to work with." Lancer added.

My classmates looked to me expectantly. I raised an eyebrow. "I honestly have no idea what you guys are talking about." I said, standing up.

"What do you mean?" Dash asked, scared. "I haven't fought the Fright Knight in a year and a half." I said.

My parents raised their eyebrows in shock. "What about what just happened with the ghost that was just here?" Valerie asked.

"Again, I don't know what you are talking about." I said, truthfully. She stepped back, as did most of the people.

"You don't remember." Dash said.

"…No, I don't. Now if you could just get out of my way, so that I can leave." I said, narrowing my eyes. A sharp pain suddenly ran through my skull.

"…I'm going to go home now." I said, hesitantly. They let me fly through the roof and didn't say anything afterwards.

The pain in my head intensified when I reverted back to human form. I winced and went to grab some water when I heard it.

_You want the pain. You want to feel the pain._

I took a step back and looked into my bathroom.

_You want to go grab that razor and cut. You don't care that you are clean._

I went into the bathroom and grabbed my razor.

_Nobody likes you anyway. They wouldn't care if you were gone._

They wouldn't care if I was gone. I pressed the blade into my skin and dragged it across my forearm.

_Nobody cares._

Nobody cares.

…

I woke up on the cold tile floor of the bathroom. There was blood everywhere. Sam didn't seem like she was home, so that was fortunate. I hissed in pain as I moved my arm. I inspected the damage.

27 cuts…..

Holy shit.

I had never gone over ten on one arm before….this was 27 counting the mysterious one that I had gotten this afternoon. I looked around the bathroom, throwing open the cabinet and wrapping my arms. I felt that scary numbness again and I didn't know what to do….

I could call Sam. I could call her and she could hold me and everything would be okay. But I couldn't get too dependent on her. She wasn't a constant in my life. It's sad, but it's true. She couldn't be counted on.

My phone was vibrating from the sink, so I stood up shakily, ignoring the blood already seeping through the bandages, and answered.

"Lo?" I asked.

"_Danny! Are you okay? You just left and haven't answered any of our calls!_" Sam's worried voice sounded through the phone.

"I went home to sleep! Jeez. I'm fine Sam! I've been fine for a while." I assured her, looking at my arm.

"_You have an army of ghosts trying to get you to kill yourself and you don't remember fighting any of them! That isn't okay._" She said. I rolled my eyes.

"Look, I'm not going to kill myself. I have you guys looking after me. I have Cameron, Jack, and Hayden. I'm going to be completely fine." I said, looking down at my feet.

She sighed. "_Okay…but the second you feel any…urges…you tell me._" She ordered. I nodded. "_Danny, I can't see you if you are nodding_." She laughed.

"Oh, yeah. Okay. I'll tell you. Talk to you later." I said, hanging up the phone. "Well…I guess you just lied to her." A voice sounding from behind me. I jumped and looked the figure.

"D?" I asked. He laughed. "Yeah. I was kidding though. I'm sure you are okay." He said, jumping off of my bed.

"How long have you been here?" I asked, looking around at the clean bathroom nervously. "Just the start of the conversation. What happened to your arm?" He asked. I put it behind my back. "Cut myself making lunch." I lied. He nodded.

"Okay, cool. Sorry I let myself in. I have a proposition for you!" He said excitedly. I raised an eyebrow. "What kind?" I asked, pulling down my shirt sleeve.

"Well, there is a party tonight. Trevor Johnson is throwing it. Supposed to be a complete rager! Anyways, I got invited, but you are the only one I know in this town…so will you go with me?" He smiled widely.

I thought about it. There was obviously going to be alcohol. I could just not drink if I went. He was right, I am the only one he knows here. I can't just leave him to the wolves…right?

"Yeah, I'll go." I said finally. He fist pumped the air and smiled at me. "What are you going to tell Sam? From the rumors I heard from some people about you, Sam won't let you go twenty feet near a party." He said.

"I won't tell her. I'll tell her that I'm going to Camerons." I said. He smirked. "Lying to your guardian angel, I like it." He said.

"Guardian Angel?" I scoffed. "Sam keeps me out of trouble. That's it. I wouldn't call her an angel." I spat. I don't know where _that _came from.

"True. I don't know what to do until the party though." Dylan revealed. "We could go to the Nasty Burger."

Dylan wrinkled his nose. "Remember, Nasty is one letter away from Tasty." I joked, throwing on a light jacket over my shirt. It may be seventy degrees today, but I can't let people see that I have fallen back on old habits.

"Okay, fine. Take me to your nasty burgers, but if I have a heart attack, its on you." Dylan joked, laughing a lot at an inside joke I didn't get.

I laughed along nervously. How do I reply to that? "Well, I hope you don't." I said awkwardly.

"Alright, lets go." He said, his laughing spell completely over with. I smiled slightly and led him out the door. The first thing I noticed was that the door was locked. He couldn't have gotten in. I chanced a glance at him, he didn't notice.

Something was obviously up with him. And I intended to find out.

"What's the hold up?" He asked. I unlocked the door quickly. "The door was stuck." I lied. "Come on, let's go."

We hopped into my car and drove towards the Nasty Burger. Sam's car was here, thank god. I couldn't back out of the party, but Dylan was giving me the creeps. He was watching me closely, and looking at my arms with distaste. Like he wasn't happy about them.

He exited the car and I told him I'd be in right after him. I opened my text messages and typed to Tucker.

_Tucker [sent] I hope you are at Nasty Burger too, because something is def off with the new kid Dylan._

_Tucker [rec] I am. Sit with us. I'll give you a guess on what's wrong with us. Telling Sam._

_Tucker [sent] on my way._

I exited the car and walked in with Dylan, looking around for Sam and Tucker. Dylan tried to get us to sit alone, but I walked over to Sam and Tucker upon seeing them. I heard his sigh, like he didn't want me to do that.

"Hey guys." I said, forcing a smile. Something was _really _off with D now, now that we were around Sam and Tucker, who were laughing happily.

"Hey Danny!" They said. "This is Dylan." I said, looking at them sharply. They needed to figure what was wrong with him and soon.

I don't know why, but when I was with him, I felt like I was in danger.

And I was scared.


	18. Chapter 18

"So, Dylan, Where are you from?" Tucker questioned. I could see in his eyes that he was ready for a full out investigation. Dylan looked at me and I itched my arm, as if on command.

"…A few towns over." Dylan said, hesitantly. "Do you like to be called Dylan or D?" Sam asked. Dylan was completely staring at me now, not even hiding it. He turned his sharp gaze off of me, thankfully.

"I like to be called D. I'm actually distant relatives with Cameron and Frank. I'm staying with them for a while." He said.

"Then why isn't your last name Smith?" I asked, confused. Sam face palmed and Tucker snickered. "Dude, your relatives don't have to have your last name. Marriage _is _a thing you know." Tucker explained. I blushed.

"My name used to be Smith, but my mom remarried and changed my name with hers. She and her husband died recently." Frank said, looking down, but I could tell it was a lie. Why was he lying?

"Anyways, what is with the interrogation?" D laughed. "Danny, go get us some food." Dylan said, his eyes flashing. I jerked up and headed towards the cashier, no control of my movements what-so-ever.

…

_Sam's POV_

I watched as Danny left the table on command from D, and looked at the boy in question, who was smirking at me and Tucker.

"Now, you can go full out on your interrogation. Yes I am a ghost, yes I am targeting Danny. No, he doesn't remember fighting me. Now ask your questions." He smirked. I gaped but composed myself, glaring.

"Who are you?" Tucker started, his voice on edge. "I am Depression. There is a reason Mr. Fenton got so bad in such a short amount of time. I am that reason. I take the lives of teenagers to become part of my army so that I do not feel the depression I am forced to bear with me my entire afterlife." Depression explained.

I glared. "So you are trying to take the life of Danny?" I asked sharply, looking to the boy in question, who was currently ordering food.

"Yes, and now even more so. He wants to date my little sister. I'm still very protective over my living relatives." D smirked.

Cameron.

"Cameron is your sister? I thought Frank was her only brother!" I exclaimed.

"He is the only _living _brother. I committed suicide a few years back. No one likes to talk about it. My name was Dylan Smith and I was a couple grades above yours. In Jasmines grade." D said.

"…We are going to tell Danny about you." Tucker said finally, keeping his voice strong. D laughed. "I have more power of him right now then you guys ever will. He will deny it, thinking that I am fully human." D said confidently.

"But he is the one that told us to interrogate you." I added.

D stopped sharply and stood quickly. "…He what?" He said. I nodded. "He is on to you, Dylan Smith. You better watch your back, because the second we tell Danny who you are, you are going to wish he hadn't." I smirked.

D laughed sharply, examining the dark blue ectoblast in his hand. "I could make you forget all this, you know that right? But I'm not going to, you know why? I am going to make you suffer. You are going to watch Danny fall deeper and deeper into his depression and you won't say anything or I will make him kill himself." D said.

Tucker and I deflated.

"That's right. And, now for the boy in question." D said, his laughter ending into an evil smile. His ectoblast stayed in his hand and we were forced to watch as he placed his hand on Danny's back and forced him out of the restaurant.

"What are we going to do, Sam?" Tucker asked.

I paused. "If Danny can't beat this demon, we are going to have to. Come on, let's talk to Jazz." I said, grabbing my purse and heading to my car, Tucker following closely behind.

"You know, Danny is lucky that you love him so much." He said. "Yeah, I just wished he remembered that he loved me too." I said.

…

_Danny's POV_

"Where are we going?" I asked, my mind hazy. D sighed. "Need you to do something for me." D said, smiling.

"Yeah? What? Wait, where were we just now?" I asked, feeling like a huge chunk of memory was just lost on my brain. I had this strange suspicion, but couldn't figure out what I was suspicious of.

"We need to drink. Like a lot." D said. I shook my head. "No way man, I got out of that shit already. And I'm not jumping back in." I said.

D glared. "You _will_ drink with me, Danny." He persuaded. "Okay, but only a little. I don't want to fall back into old habits." I sighed, giving in.

D smiled again. "I'll go pick up some liquor and meet you at your house soon. See you in a bit." D said, smiling somewhat evilly, but I think that's just because he was probably stealing the liquor.

I sighed and started to walk home, my ghost sense going off and sending a chill down my back. I glared at the sky and ran into the alley, transforming and flying up into the sky.

"Falling back into old habits, aye?" A familiar voice said, and I felt a kick to the back. I screeched as I was thrown into the park, near the area where you can't see past the trees.

"You already _have _fallen back into old habits." The voice continued. I turned around and saw a hooded figure with yellow eyes. I could only see the eyes because they glowed.

"I don't know what you are talking about." I gulped, standing up and wincing when I stretched out my back.

"Yes you do." The figure sneered, pulling me up by the jumpsuit and flying into the clearing, scaring the stoners that were smoking in there. Ironically, Stella and Frank were there. "This is where you got high for the first time, remember?" The figure laughed, throwing me into Stella.

"Wait…Da—" Stella started but I was already being whisked away. "Now, let's go see some other sights, maybe some other people." The figure started but I kicked out of his grip and flew away from him.

He appeared in front of me and I halted to a stop. "Okay, this is getting old." I glared, preparing an ectoblast. "I wouldn't do that. I have eyes on your friends." He said, twirling a chain around his hand. I let the energy fizzle out and I glared.

"Little Jackson and Hayden, Sam and Tucker, Cameron and Frank and Stella…I have eyes on all of them. You better behave." It added.

I sighed. "Who are you?"

"I am DEPRESSION!" It bellowed, making me wince. "And you are my next target for my army of the suicidal teenagers! But you won't remember that will you?" It sneered. I flew away as fast as I could. It obviously knew I was half-ghost and knew my identity, so I couldn't hide in human form. Blue blasts flew past me.

"Come on, Danny. Where do people get lost in? Casper High!" I exclaimed, accelerating on my way to the blessed building.

Casper High…blessed…two words I thought would never go in a sentence together.

The school should be deserted and oh no….

THERE'S A FOOTBALL GAME JESUS CHRIST. F U ATHELTIC DEPARTMENT.

I tried to change directions, but Depression was two steps ahead of me. "We interrupt your athletic event to bring you an important announcement." It bellowed, throwing me in the middle of the field. Players skidded around me, trying to make it back to their respective benches.

"Hello, I am Depression. I am targeting your half-ghost friend here." Depression laughed. People around me gasped. "The Fright Knight is working for you!" Kwan screamed. Depression nodded.

"Yes. He attacked Mr. Phantom earlier in the week. But I would like to show you who Danny Phantom really is. He won't remember the revelation, but you will." He winked at me. I went to fly away, but hands shot out of the ground and held me where I stood.

"Now, don't be afraid of him. He's weak. He isn't good enough for life, and barely good enough for my army. But I will take pity and bring him among my ranks. He deserves that." Depression nodded.

"However, I cannot claim him unless he commits the act himself, which he could not, but I would be very unhappy if he failed….again." He spat. Dash paled and looked at me in awe as I let my face drop to the ground.

I honestly felt like crying.

"Now, for the moment you've all been waiting for!" Depression prepared an ectoblast. I closed my eyes as he shot it at my chest.

My world went black.

…

_3__rd__ Person POV_

The crowd went silent. Mouths were dropped open and people were speechless. Depression looked to them in triumph, and promptly disappeared.

Dash went up to the limp body and knelt next to it, tears pouring down his face. "No, no, no. I didn't bully my superhero. No way." Dash cried.

Kwan went up next to him, his face pale and clear. "You didn't know." Kwan reasoned.

"Well, I could have not been a fucking prick Kwan!" Dash said. "He won't remember that we know, and he's gonna hate me forever." Dash cried.

Sam and Tucker ran out onto the field to make sure his vitals were still there. Normal heartbeat, normal temperature.

"Well, he's not dead." Tucker said. Sam shook her head. "Yet." She whispered violently. She stood and looked to the crowd of shocked bystanders.

"See that?" She pointed at the body of Danny Fenton, a side of him no one has really paid attention to.

"That is the start of a losing war. We can't keep treating Danny like he's trash. We have to try to make his life easier so he doesn't take the easy way out and spend eternity being tortured. I don't want him to die. He's my best friend, but we have to treat him like he's worth it, now more than ever! Please…just think about it." Sam said.

People nodded, but one person shook her head.

Cameron Smith.

"I can't be with him…he's not normal!" Cameron said, going up to Sam, her hand locked around the necklace.

"Cameron, he needs you." Sam pleaded reluctantly.

"And I will still be here. I can't live everyday like my boyfriend could die." Cameron snapped, snapping the necklace off of her neck.

Sam gaped. "I'm sorry, but…tell him I've made up my mind. Tell him not to contact me." Cameron said sadly.

"Cameron." Tucker said, and she halted. "What?" She said, her voice sad. "Depression…He's—"

"I know who he is." Cameron stated. "He's a monster."

Sam nodded and let her go, looking to the boy who would definitely be broken to find out that his crush doesn't want him anymore.

"Come on, we have to try to get him home." Tucker said, going to lift him when he opened his eyes. "What is going on?" He groaned. Everyone held their breath. Would he remember? Is there a chance he could?

"…What do you remember?" Sam asked, kneeling beside him.

"Walking home." He said, but his face looked confused. Sam sighed and brought the hand that was holding the necklace up to rub at her face, when he caught her wrist.

"What is that?" He asked. Sam sighed. "Cameron gave it back."

"So that's her answer."

"You didn't hear the reason!" Sam said, as Danny started to get up.

"…I don't need to. No one really care about me, Sam! I'm just a human punching bag. You use me to relieve frustrations without giving a shit about my emotions."

Danny started glowing blue.

"But I'm tired of it! I'm done! I can't do it anymore."

The blue aura got brighter.

"Everything would be so much better if—"

The glowing stop.

"Better if what?" Sam asked hesistantly.

"Never mind. I'm going home. I don't even know what the fuck happened here." He grumbled, stomping away. Dash gaped in his direction.

"We cannot make him too upset." Dash whispered. Sam nodded in fear. "That aura, that has to be what signals he is thinking that way. All we need to do is watch for the aura. Snap him out of it if something gets to him." Sam planned. The students, parents, and faculty around her agreed.

They all made it their personal goal to help try and save Danny Fenton.

…

_Danny's POV_

I woke up on the cold ground of my bathroom. I looked around me, expecting to find blood. I didn't. I found a razor that hadn't made its way into my skin. I sucked in a deep breath and ran out of the bathroom, feeling like I was going to be sick if I looked at the razor. I rubbed at my arms and tried to think about what had happened today.

I'm drinking with D later today, and…I was walking home, and….FUCK.

I'm sick and tired of having bits and pieces of my memory go away. It's driving me insane.

I had vague images of a masked figure and a strange feeling that everyone knew a secret of mine. Which secret? Who knew, to be honest.

I had so many secrets. My secrets probably had secrets.

Focus, okay. Weird images of the grim reaper with familiar yellow eyes aside, I felt in my back pocket, getting upset when I realized it wasn't a dream.

Cameron didn't want to be with me. As usual. No girl _really _liked me. They either used me or they found out that I wasn't good enough for them. They never give me the benefit of the doubt.

I'm just a freak who deserves to die.

My thoughts were interrupted by a knock at the door. I sighed, rubbing my face a bit even though I know it would make me look even more upset.

I opened the door to Sam's house to come face to face with Stella, in all her flannel and legging glory. She smiled at me sadly and threw her arms around my smallish frame. "Hey, dude. You wanna talk about it?" She asked, like she knew what was wrong with me.

I sighed. "One, you were only with me to fix me. Two, why are you here anyways? Three, you wouldn't understand." I said, a slight scowl on my face. But I was feeling too upset to really be mad at her. The weight on my heart was too heavy.

"Look…I know about you. Being Danny Phantom, anyways." She said awkwardly. I looked at her sharply, my anger rising.

"How did you figure it out? Who are you going to tell?" I demanded, not even denying it. She backed up slightly and looked around, sighing and closing the door behind her.

"It wasn't hard to piece together. Phantom had more and more evidence on who he was coming in by the truck full, and suddenly he's a half ghost that committed suicide recently? Not a coincidence." Stella explained, but I knew that there was something else that led her to the discovery. Something in the back of my mind told me not to bring it up though.

"…that's true." I sighed sadly, rubbing at my eyes pitifully. I felt like crying. Stella looked sadly at me, but bit her lip, as if she was trying not to tell me something.

"I know you have something else to say Stella." I sighed, wrapping my arms around my abdomen.

"….Cameron doesn't want to date you because you are Danny Phantom." Stella said sadly. I fell on the floor in a heap, unable to control the tears. Stella rushed to my side immediately. "Danny, hold on. I didn't tell her. She found out like I did. She didn't want—"

"Didn't want to be with a freak like me. I get it Stella." I sobbed. She shushed me and shook her head, trying to get me to look at her.

"No, that's not it!" She pleaded. She got out her phone and started dialing a number. Something inside of me snapped. The weight was too heavy. I had to get it out. I had to do something.

I couldn't live with this pain.

"Sam I don't know what to do! He isn't taking the news very well. He is _dark blue_." She said, suddenly tying ghost proof cables around me.

"I can't do that Sam! One, you. Two, it would be taking advantage—okay…." Stella bit her lip and hung up the phone, sighing. She smiled sheepishly at me and held out her hand. "Do you wanna forget in a safe way? I'll even untie you….if you wanna be untied."

I knew what she had in mind.

Something was screaming at me to say no, to find a better solution. The darkest reaches of my soul told me to not fuck around with my feelings anymore and just get rid of myself. But I found myself taking her hand and letting her attach her lips to mine. She untied the cables and allowed me to slip my arms around her waist, pulling her closely to me.

Ironically, she wasn't the one I wanted to be doing this with. It wasn't Cameron either.

I wanted to with Sam. I know that its probably fucked up to want to do _that _with Sam, but I trust her. I trust her with my life, my soul, and my body. She makes everything better….most of the time.

Even as I thought this, I still let Stella pull me up the stairs until I got fed up with being submissive. I was tired of being pushed around. I wanted to be in control.

I will somehow gain control over my actions again. One way or another.

_Alright. This isn't my best chapter, but this is kinda* a filler even though it has some major plot developing elements._

_Yes, Stella came to Danny first and did what she does best. Makes him forget. Idk why I did that but you know DRAMA._

_I don't know how some of you are going to take that honestly, so tell me in the reviews!_

_SO CLOSE TO ONE HUNDERED REVIEWS ITS INSANE_

_Thank you to all who are reading this._

_There isn't much left, but I am planning on doing a sequel._

_It will probably* be called Beautiful Scars, or something within that nature._

_ANYWHO_

_GOODBYE :D_


	19. Chapter 19

I woke up with Stella's hair in my mouth. It's not the most pleasant taste, but I felt needed at the moment. Her eyes fluttered open and smiled at me. "You were self-destructing." She said. I nodded.

"Thanks Stella." I murmured. She nodded, sitting up with the blankets wrapped around her. "You needed me, so I helped you. And I'll always help you, but not always in that way." She blushed. I chuckled.

"Hey, but if you want some advice? You think that girls don't want or need you, but there is _one _who does. Next time you feel the need to do what we did, why don't you ask Sam?" She smirked.

"Sam? What the heck why?" I started. She narrowed her eyes, smirking at me. "I know how she feels about you, and you felt about her. Even when you were dating _me _you had feelings for her. Cameron may not have worked out, but give Sam a chance. She will be the one to save you from yourself." Stella smiled, gathering up her clothes and exiting the room.

I watched her leave and threw on some sweatpants to walk her to my door.

"How does she feel about me Stella?" I asked before she left, not thinking she heard me. She turned around to my surprise.

"Why don't you ask her yourself?" Stella smiled, waving and leaving. I sighed and nodded, grabbing a t-shirt, not even caring that my scars and cuts were exposed and heading out the door. I got in my car and headed towards my tree, getting my phone out illegally and texting Sam.

_Sam [sent] meet me the tree?_

_Sam [rec] …yeah of course. See you soon!_

I smiled nervously and threw my phone in the passenger seat when I passed a cop. It vibrated a few more times but I didn't check it and focused on parallel parking. When I somewhat successfully parked, I grabbed my phone and checked it.

_Cameron [rec] can we talk? im sorry._

_Tucker [rec] sam seems worried, u ok?_

_Tucker [sent] yeah, i just need to talk to her, ya know?_

_Tucker [rec] Cameron wants u to text her._

_Tucker [sent] lol no._

_Tucker [rec] fair enough. What are you talking to Sam about?_

_Tucker [sent] bye (;_

_Tucker [rec] I hate you._

My first thought was: Why was Tucker with Cameron?

My second thought was: holy shit, Sam is already here. Sam was sitting with her back to me on the hill. I took a deep breath and started walking up. She turned and smiled sheepishly at me.

"I have a car, how did you get here before me?" I asked, sitting it in the grass next to her. She paled. "Umm, well I was in the neighborhood!" She lied. I raised my eyebrow. "Really? You are going to lie?" I asked.

"…I can't tell you were I've been." She said. "Why? Gotta a boyfriend?" I asked playfully.

Please say no. Please say no. Please say no.

"Nah. It's just-a secret." She said. I nodded.

"Now, I'm going to ask you a question, and you can't lie to me." I said. She nodded. "I can handle that." She said.

"How do you feel about me?" I asked. She paled and laughed. "You are my best friend!" She drawled. "I didn't ask about our relationship status, I asked how you felt about me." I said.

"….I don't know how to answer that, Danny." She laughed. I narrowed my eyes. "Okay, maybe I should go about this differently. "What did I tell you when I tried to kill myself?" I stood up.

"Daniel!" She hissed. I glared. "Well you won't answer me directly!" I growled. She stood. "You shouldn't bring that up! Is that what this is? You are going to kill yourself and you want to know how I feel about you so you don't have a guilty conscious? Well that isn't how I roll and—mmmm!"

Sam was abruptly cut off by me forcefully smashing my lips on hers. She threaded her fingers in my hair and increasing the passion. I lifted her into my arms, her feet leaving the ground.

We parted, breathing heavily. We were blushing heavily and Sam's arms were wrapped around my neck, keeping her close.

"…Danny?" She asked, looking me in the eyes. "Oh shit, I didn't mean to do that." I blushed, detangling our bodies. "Danny, wait." She tried to stop me.

"I'm sorry, I just thought—oh you probably hate me." I said, quickly going invisible and flying back to the house. I went visible and laid down on the bed. My phone started ringing. "Hello?"

"_Hey! You didn't come to the door last night! You okay dude?_" D's voice sounded over the phone. I took a deep breath. "I don't want to do it, dude." I said, standing up for myself.

"…._You _will _drink with me._" He demanded. I shook my head. "No D. I'm not going to. Goodbye."

I heard his gasp of shock before I hung up, throwing my phone onto my bed, feeling triumphant. I knew Sam was probably going to come home soon, so I stayed in my bedroom.

I played on my phone, surfing on the internet, when I got a text message from Tucker, which immediately made me roll my eyes.

_Tucker [rec] :D_

I thought about what that could mean before just asking him.

_Tucker [sent] ?_

_Tucker [rec] you and D's friendship split!_

I let out a deep breath. Thank god no one knew that I had kissed-

My door slammed open. "Sam!" I screeched, looking at the fuming Goth girl in my doorway. She stomped her feet over to me and placed her hands on my hips. "…What are you thinking?" She spat.

I let my head droop down to the floor, not wanting to meet her angry gaze. Stella lied to me….

"How could you kiss me—"

"I don't know I was stupid!" I cut her off

"Shut up, Danny! How could you kiss me and run away?" She said, her tone softening. "…what?" I looked up at her and she was smiling, her hands dropping from her hips. I let a weak smile form, when she sat next to me, taking my hand in hers.

"…I-I really have wanted you to kiss me since seventh grade." She said sheepishly. I grinned widely, hugging her tightly. "I thought you hated me!"

"No! I could never hate you Danny. I hated you because you left me alone in the park without kissing me some more." She grinned. I put on a seductive smile. "We are alone now…" I winked. Her smile, if possible, widened more and suddenly she was on top of me, pressing me into the bed.

"I was completely kidding." I breathed, letting my phone drop out of my hands, even while it still vibrated with questions from Tucker.

"I wasn't." She winked, pressing her lips softly against mine, before I pulled her down to pull our bodies together. I allowed myself to loose myself in the moment, and get lost in Sam.

Before you say anything, I understand that I had _just _had Stella last night, but I don't know what's happening to me. It's like a fire started in the room and that we were in the middle of it.

I ran my fingers up her shirt to her back, before pulling it up to remove it entirely. I kissed her neck as she ran her fingers up my stomach to my chest, stopping at my collar bones. Her hands traveled over my shoulders and down my arms, and stopped at the bandages on my wrist, and old scars. I stopped kissing her and watched as she removed the bandage, revealing the red, raw skin and kissed them.

"These are a part of you Danny." She whispered. "I wouldn't try to change them. I think they are beautiful."

"How? They're ugly…" I said. She shook her head. "Each scar has a story of how you overcame something horrible. I think that is the greatest thing. You have tons of scars from ghost fights, but these… these are the ones that I will look at and think, 'Danny is a hero' because you saved _yourself_." Sam said, smiling down at me.

I was feeling too emotional so I pulled her attention away from my arms and pulled her in for a deep kiss.

She removed my own shirt before placing her hands on my bare chest, stopping me for a moment. "I know that you and Stella had, you know, last night, so we don't have to do anything you don't want to. Or will regret." Sam said.

I raised an eyebrow.

"A pretty girl who loves me for who I am wants to have sex with me and you think I'm about to deny that?" I smirked. She giggled, kissing my forehead. "Just giving you an option to get out."

I flipped us over so that Sam was lying on her back, looking surprised up at me. "I don't want to get out, if you know what I mean."

At that, Sam burst out laughing. "I honestly hate you." She giggled. I smiled down at her, attaching our lips again. She curled one hand in my hair and let one hand trail down my still back. It reached the waistband of my sweatpants before retreated back up.

"You are the bravest person I have ever met." She whispered against my lips. I smiled, pecking her lips and then her cheek. I went to say something cute to her, but I was cut off by my phone ringing. Sam continued kissing my neck as I felt around my bed to get to my phone.

"Hello?" I gasped.

A snort followed my greeting. "_Hey dude. Why won't you answer me?_" Tucker's voice sounded.

"…uh, yeah. About that. I'm a bit preoccupied." I told him, trying to hold in the gasp that happened to want to escape when Sam bit down on my collarbone.

"_Anyways…Look there's this party tonight at the high school, and you should come. Cameron and Stella will be there, which ever one you are into at the moment._" Tucker offered. I laughed and Sam raised an eyebrow at me.

"Look Tuck, I'm not really into them anymore…I'm kinda with a girl at the moment, so if you could just HANG UP." I squeaked when Sam decided to jab her fingers into my ribs.

"_OH, I getcha. That's why you sound really weird. Well, who is it?_" Tucker teased. I growled and Sam giggled and held her hand out for the phone. I rolled my eyes and sat down on the bed, handing her my phone.

She sat crisscross and smirked into the phone. "Hey Tuck."

I heard his reaction clearly. "_FINALLY!_" Sam laughed and hung up the phone and attached her lips back on mine.

"Okay, just making sure this is what you want."

"Shut up Sam."

…

Sam played with my bangs as we cuddled under the covers. "Your hair has gotten so long…" She whispered, her voice hoarse. I smiled, messing up the hair at the top of her head. "Yours has too."

She stuck her tongue out at me before I wrapped my arms around her waist, resting my head against her neck. "I'm tireddd." I whined. "Then go to sleep, doofus." She laughed.

I nuzzled her neck and closed my eyes, trying to fall asleep. She continued to play with my hair before I heard the door open.

"Jesus Christ. I didn't think you guys were going to go that far." Tucker's voice said loudly before Sam shushed him.

"How did this happen?" Tucker whispered. "Oh, and by the way, Jazz is here and covering her eyes."

Sam scoffed. "Stella probably told him, or hinted at it at least. She, um, calmed him down last night." Sam said awkwardly.

"And you calmed him down today?" Jazz asked sarcastically. "…he wasn't upset?" Sam said sheepishly.

"Okay, well, so…is he actually asleep?" Tucker asked. I smiled. "You are such a dork, Daniel." Sam said fondly.

"You guys are disgusting." Tucker said. I cracked an eye open and stared at them. "Get out." I mumbled at Tucker. He scoffed.

"Ooo I'm so scared of—EEK!" Tucker screeched as I shot an ectoblast at him and my sister and they promptly left the room, leaving me and Sam alone. I opened my eyes fully and stared at her. Her hair was messy and she looked beautiful. She smiled at me.

"…I love you, Sam." I whispered. She grinned and nodded. "I know. I love you too." She countered. I sat up, letting the blanket cover my waist and raised an eyebrow. "How did you know?" I laughed.

She looked at me sheepishly. "Don't get mad…I didn't know how to tell you. When you, uh, tried to…you know…you sent everyone goodbye except for me. You told me that you loved me." She breathed out. I blinked at her and then nodded. "I think I remember that, somewhat. I remember asking Tucker a couple nights ago...actually I never asked him." I laughed.

Sam cocked her head to the side.

"When I fainted in the shower. I had a dream that Tucker told me that the text had said that I loved you and that we had went on a flight but you told me we would never work out, so we kissed and then I woke up." I told her. She laughed.

"Well, your dream tried to tell you something you already knew." Sam said, brushing my bangs away from my eyes, the comforter tucked under her arms. I brushed a strand of her hair behind her ear and cupped her face, bringing her lips to mine.

"…Tucker told me about a party tonight?" I said. Sam nodded.

"Yeah I did, and you should probably get ready." Tucker said from the outside of the door. I threw a pillow at it before laughing with Sam.

I think if Sam was always here next to me to help me live through another day, I could beat the demons that haunt me.

…

"Do I look okay? You said it was pretty formal." I blushed. I was wearing a white button up with a black skinny tie and black dress pants. My black converse high tops were tied normally on my shoes. Sam looked me over and nodded. She herself had on a black dress that was strapless and stopped at the knees. It had a white lace bodice and she was wearing black low top converse to complete the look.

"I say you look fine. This party really isn't anything _that _fancy, but we still want everyone dressed up." Sam explained. I raised my eyebrow.

"We?" I asked, feeling suddenly nervous. "Jazz, Tucker, and I." Sam lied. I sighed, wrapping my arms around her waist. "When will you stop lying to me?" I asked, sadly. She sighed. "When I can tell you the truth without your life being in danger." She said, pecking my lips.

"So what is this party anyway?" I asked when Sam and I were on our way. Sam was driving her black BMW to the party so I didn't have to drive. "It's like a school dance, since ours got cancelled because someone keeps crashing into the school building and delaying repairs." Sam teased. I laughed, laying my hand on her thigh, smiling when she smiled at me.

"…So, are we a couple? Or am I overreading this?" I asked shyly. She laughed. "We can be a couple if you want to be. I know that you and Cameron just got done with whatever you guys had."

"Sam I knew her for three days." I deadpanned. Sam shrugged. "You knew Stella two hours before you kissed her."

"Nu uh! It was longer than two hours because we got high in the park—"

"What?!" Sam demanded, turning her head sharply in my direction as we approached a red light.

"I mean….nothing." I smiled sheepishly.

"That's how you guys met? Getting high in the park?" Sam snorted. I nodded. "Well…Frank invited me and told me Stella would be there. It wasn't really my intention to get high."

Sam gave me a look. "I promise!" I said, raising my hands. Sam sighed. "Whatever," She laughed, "We are here, good sir."

The park was decorated in bright lights and people were everywhere. Fairy lights hung from the tree tops, and there was a dance floor with tables surrounding it.

I gaped in awe and smiled. "Woah…is this prom? I feel like this is prom." I squeaked. "Yeah, it is. Daniel Fenton, welcome to your Junior prom!" Sam said, getting out of her car. I followed quickly, grabbing her hand and letting her guide me through the crowd. She spotted Tucker and Valerie sitting at a table together, and quickly made our way over to them.

"Hey guys!" Sam greeted. Tucker winked at me and I just blushed. "You could've told me Prom was tonight…" I grumbled. "I probably would've dressed nicer."

"Danny, you already looked wicked handsome so shut up." Sam said, bopping me on the nose. Valerie pointed at us. "When did that happen?" She asked.

"They fucked this afternoon." Tucker said, taking a sip from his drink. I coughed and stood up quickly. "Okay, Sam, we are dancing away from Tucker." I screeched, pulling Sam away from the table.

_When I was younger I saw,_

_My daddy cry_

_And curse at the wind._

I grabbed Sam and pulled her close, letting her rest her head on my shoulder. She sighed happily.

_He broke his own heart and I watched_

_As he tried to reassemble it_

_And my momma swore_

_That she would_

_Never let herself forget_

"_And that was the day that I promised, I'd never sing of love if it does not exist._" I sang into Sam's here, who gasped, but I felt her lips twitch into a smile.

"_Darling, you are the only exception, you are the only exception_." She sang back. I laughed and pressed my lips to hers, swaying back and forth softly.

_You are the only exception_

_And I'm on my way to believing._


	20. Chapter 20

I stayed at prom for three hours. Sam and I danced a lot and kissed and stuff. Tucker and Star made out by the spiked punch bowl. It was great for the time that we had.

Then it kind of went to shit.

Cameron had been leaning against a tree in her silver sequined prom dress with white converse, looking as if she wanted to tell me something. She came over and dragged me out to the dance floor for a dance. The music was loud enough so that whatever she had to say, only I would be able to hear it.

"Cam, I kind of have a girlfriend now…" I said awkwardly. She flinched, like that upset her but she sighed. "Everyone here is lying to you, Danny." She whispered in my ear, under the guise that she was resting her head on my shoulder. I looked around. It appeared that everyone was watching me closely, but at the same time wasn't.

"…What do you mean?" I still asked. I could hear her inhale and exhale a few times and feel her breath on my neck. "D. He's a ghost." She whispered.

I almost stopped dancing. "He wants you apart of his army of the suicides. Making sure that he never feels depression. He's also my brother." She said, sounding sheepish.

"Why does your brother want to kill me?" I asked.

"One, you are depressed, two…you are powerful. A couple days ago he revealed your identity to all of Amity. Everyone knows. They all want you to be okay, and they are going to make sure you are okay so they don't have a guilty conscious. Sam doesn't really want to be with you. She pities you." Cam finished. The music stopped and I looked into her eyes, seeing that everything she was saying was true. Everyone left the dance floor for the crowning of the king and queens.

"Cam, cause a scene. I just need to get out of here." I said. I felt cheated and-and lied to. I wanted to just crawl under a rock and escape all of my problems.

"I got you." She said as Star's name was called for Prom Queen. "This isn't fair!" She suddenly screeched, stomping away from me. Everyone's sideways glances at me left and all of their attention was off of me.

Perfect. The perfect exit from this dance. No one was paying attention to me and I was good to go.

I quickly sprinted into the forest, not seeing the pair of yellow eyes that followed my every move.

_Sam's POV_

"This isn't fair! I should be prom queen! Not this selfish witch!" Cameron screeched. It was so uncharacteristically Cameron that I stopped her. "What are you doing?" I hissed.

"I'm helping out a friend." She sneered. I stepped back. "Well stop. We have to make this night perfect for Danny." I whispered. She stopped, all emotions leaving her face. Her eyes glowed yellow and her body crumpled to the ground. D was now staring me directly in the face, a smirk on his lips.

"Who do you think I'm helping?" He asked, laughing. Everyone stopped, pale faced. I glared. "What did you do?" I said, my anger heightening.

"Me? I just told the truth with a dash of a lie. Told him how everyone knew his secret. That everyone was lying to him. Even you."

My face fell. I dropped my eyes to the ground in sadness. He was right.

"You only got with him to make him happy." D started circling him. "You didn't want to be with him until he told you straight that he was okay. That he wanted to be better. You can't be with someone who is broken." He laughed.

"Stop it." I said quietly, starting to shake. "When he kissed you, you felt the old Danny. That if he was with you, he would be okay. You love him and you thought that you could fix him. Sounds familiar." He said, casting a glance at Stella.

"Stop…" I whispered, feeling my eyes burn. I don't cry.

"You _lied _to your best friend. You are no better than me." D smiled evilly. I punched him in the nose.

Everyone gasped in shock.

"While at the time that may have been true," I started, my voice shaky, "I did want to fix him, but I realized, D, that Danny is able to fix _himself_. He is able to overcome many things and win battles no one else could. I do love him. I do want to be with him even if he is broken. He's strong. He's stronger than you ever will be." I finished, my hands in fists at my sides.

D looked shocked, but his face perked up and he laughed.

He laughed at all of us.

"You say this, but you are already too late…" He smirked, disappearing.

What did he mean by that? What happened? I looked around for Danny, but he was nowhere to be found. Footprints leading to town were in the meadow to my left. Danny was in trouble but I wasn't anywhere I could help him.

Damn it Depression.

"Wait!" I called, but he was gone. "Sam, what do we do?" Stella asked. I shook my head. "I don't know…first things first, Find Danny!" I said. Tucker nodded and started sprinting in the direction that he saw footprints in the grass.

"Cameron! Cameron wake up." I shook the passed out girl on the floor, who gasped and stood, almost hitting her forehead on mine.

"Sam! You gotta help Danny!" She gasped out. I placed my hands on her shoulders. "He was in your head, so you had to be in his…what happened?"

"Even when he left I could still feel him. Still see what he was thinking…seeing what Danny was doing." Cameron said, starting to shake.

"What is Danny doing?" I hissed. She shook her head. "He isn't, you know, trying to end it all, but one of D's minions has him. They are going to force all of D's depression onto Danny." Cameron finished.

"…What do you mean?"

"Everyone of his minions is going to put on their feelings of sadness until its too much and he's being to die. He said he's doing it in front of everyone." Cameron finished, her face pale. "The connections gone now, but he's outside of the town hall."

Just then, a scream pierced the air of Amity.

Danny.

_Danny's POV_

I was hit in the face again when I tried to struggle out of the ropes. "This isn't fair of a fight, you know." I glared, spitting blood onto the pavement.

"My master has big plans for tonight, he doesn't want you to screw it up." The minion spat. I rolled my eyes.

"Danny!" D's voice rang out from the dark. "You know you are literally a penis right?" I sassed, rolling my eyes. "How rude." Depression said.

"I remember everything you know. The graveyard when I first met you, all of it." I hissed. Depression nodded. "Yeah, I know. But you won't for long. You are about to feel the worst pain you've ever felt!" Depression said enthusisastically, sending a blue cloud. When I enhaled it, I gasped. My heart felt heavy and my mind played an image.

"_What's up, Dyl! Too bad you are such a fucking dork!" A boy with blond hair threw me to the ground._

"_Just leave me alone!" I screeched. "No. You are such a fucking waste of space. Go kill yourself, then maybe you'll be cool." The bully grinned._

_I was kicked in the chest multiple times before they ceased and left me on the ground. My jacket was torn and you could see the many cuts on my arms._

"Stop!" I gasped, feeling my eyes well up with tears. Depression smirked. "You are feeling the night that I committed suicide. And you will feel the nights of all my armies."

_I stood up and threw up blood, letting the tears stream down my cheek. I wanted to go say goodbye to my little sister, but I knew that I couldn't._

_So I took out the knife and placed vertical cuts on my arms. This was it._

_This was the end._

I screamed as I felt the pain of the cuts. My vision blurred, but somehow I felt relief. "Stop!" I said, the sadness being too much.

"John, Sally, Hit him with what you've got!" Depressions smirk got brighter as Sally and John both hit me with the night temptation allowed them to die.

I didn't even try to force back my tears.

One by one, everyone one of the minions piled on their grief. I had long since fallen to the floor in despair, not knowing how to handle it.

"Pause." Depressions voice finally said through the air. He walked up to me, grabbing me by the hair. I was sobbing and I was a wreck. "Please…make it stop." I whispered.

Depression almost looked sympathetic. "…are you ready to become part of my army?" He asked.

"Never." I sobbed. "Then I won't make it stop."

The memories hit me full force, some of them being my own. The time that I almost died was thrust upon my mind and I hit the ground hair, screaming in pure emotional pain. I could hear people starting to gather around the barrier, gasps filling the air.

"Dylan stop!" Cameron suddenly yelled. "Why little sister!" Depression gasped, pausing the memories, but I couldn't stop crying. "This isn't you." Her voice was sad. "This is a monster those bullies made you to be. This isn't who _you _are. You are just like the ones that made you kill yourself!" She said. I could feel blood seeping through my clothes, realizing then that the cuts that were happening in my mind, were happening to my body.

I continued to cry, the ropes having been taken away long ago, getting up, much to the surprise of some of the minions.

"I'm nothing like them." D hissed.

"You are every-everything like them." I hiccupped. "You w-wouldn't make m-me go th-through this if you w-weren't." I said, my voice cracking.

"How do you have the energy to stand?" He asked in surprise, grabbing me by the hair. "I am stronger than you." I whispered. He glared.

"Give it all to him!" He growled. "But sir, that will kill him."

"Kill him, he's not worth my time."

Cameron looked at me and nodded, I knew that I was going to be okay, that this was a distraction. I may not make it out alive, but I'm going to defeat my demons anyway.

Nothing could have prepared me for what happened next.

All the memories of every minion flooded my memory, making me knees buckle and sending me to the floor. I tried to keep quiet, but broken sobs filled the air as the memories took their toll on my body. "What's going on?" D suddenly asked.

I knew the plan was working.

The minions were disappearing one by one. "You are giving a living person your burden, so it is disappearing, brother. You are going to be free." Cameron said, her hand in my hair. Depressions scream filled the air as the last of the memories went into my brain and the pain stopped. I sniffed and sighed, feeling tired.

I knew that if I fell asleep that I wouldn't wake up again. "Thanks." I whispered, my voice hoarse. All the sadness was gone and with it the pain.

"Danny! Stay with us okay! You are going to be fine. The ambulance is on its way." Sam said, taking her place next to me, her dress torn and ripped. "I'll be fine anyway, Sammy. I love you." I whispered, not having the energy to take her hand.

Sam kissed my lips, tears starting to well up in her eyes. "You can't close your eyes!" She screamed.

That was the last thing I saw and heard.

_Short chapter but the story isn't over! Yet….. (;_


	21. Chapter 21

_Sam's POV_

"This may be hard to hear.." Doctor Johnson started, much to the Fenton's and my own dismay. "Then make it quick...please." Mrs. Fenton said.

"...well, Daniel's body is alive, but it appears that he is brain dead." Johnson said sadly. Mrs. Fenton gasped and shook her head. "No, that isn't possible!" Mr. Fenton argued.

I just sat there in shock. They fought with the doctor as I walked down the corridor to the room where Danny was in, hooked up to all kinds of machines. I sighed and sat down in the chair I hadn't left in the week that he had been there. Tucker hadn't been by in awhile.

The tests had come back that Danny was gone. He had closed his eyes and he hadn't woken up. I felt my eyes burn but I couldn't cry.

There is no way he is gone. We had been dating two days before he died.

That seemed like the wrong word, because he didn't look dead. He looked like he was sleeping. His hair fell over his eye and his chest rose and fell peacefully. Danny had sacrificed himself for all of us, and all of the depressed teenagers in the world, and he looked the same.

He was pale, but he had always been pale. The short-sleeved hospital gown showed the pale white scars on his arms, much to my discomfort. I didn't want to remember the pain that he had went through in his final moments.

"Samantha?" A nurse's timid voice came from the door. "Yeah?" My voice cracked, because I hadn't spoken in three days. "...The Fenton's have decided to pull the plug." She whispered, as if Danny could hear her. My heart stopped.

The breathing would be gone. The peacefulness would leave and be filled with the image of him in the ground. I nodded, a lone tear falling off of my face. I wrapped my arms around my abdomen and sighed, getting up from the chair, kissing his forehead one last time, and standing towards the back with Mrs. Fenton, who was sobbing.

"I don't wanna say goodbye." She sniffed. I nodded, looking down at the floor. The nurse started unhooking machines, taking away his breathing tube.

I thought that as soon as he couldn't breathe on his own, the monitor would flatline.

But it didn't. The steady beeps kept on. My eyes widened as the nurse shuffled around, seeing if she had missed any machinery. His chest continued to rise and fall as he breathed on his own.

"That's not possible…if he's brain dead he shouldn't be able to breathe on his own…" The nurse's shocked voice rang through my ears. My heart started beating rapidly. "So he isn't dead?" I asked, timidly.

"No...he's not. I'll be right back." The nurse said happily, rushing out of the room I assume to get the doctor. Mrs. Fenton rushed to her son's side in relief, petting his hair and kissing his cheeks. "You keep fighting Danny." She whispered. I sat back down in the chair, my arms never leaving my stomach.

Mrs. Fenton looked to me in sympathy. "So…? How are you feeling?" She asked. I shrugged. "Okay, considering." I swallowed. She nodded.

"Your birthday is in a couple days, correct?" She asked. I nodded. "Yeah. The big 18. I can vote! I can move out!" I said, fake enthusiasm in my tone. "Hell, I could move into the hospital if I wanted too...considering." I said, and for the first time, I wanted my mom. I wanted her to hold me and tell her everything.

But she and my dad are living in France for a couple years for business. They left me all alone. Now I don't even have Danny to keep me company.

"...Well, I can't tell you what's going to happen, or if Danny is going to pull through, but if you want, you could come stay with us." Mrs. Fenton offered.

"I don't want to be any trouble." I whispered. "You can't be alone all summer. Tucker is going to camp and your parents aren't home. Come stay with us." She pleaded.

I paused, but nodded, a small smile on my face. "Yeah...that would actually be great." I said. Mrs. Fenton sighed in relief. "Plus, now you are practically family...considering." She motioned towards me.

"I don't know for sure yet. It's just a hunch. I could just be sick or something." I said awkwardly. "Well, whatever happens, I'll be here." Mrs. Fenton said. I smiled.

"Thank you. So much."

…

_Danny's POV_

It's really dark right now. Really _really _dark.

I felt pretty okay. More okay than I've felt since the accident. But it was really dark.

"Clockwork?" I yelled out.

"What's up?" He said suddenly, his form coming into my mind, a smirk on his face. "What's going on?" I demanded.

"Well, right now, the doctors are telling your parents and Sam that you are brain dead. When that is actually not true." Clockwork explained.

"My parents think I'm dead?" I shrieked. "For now. When they try to take you off of life support, your body will breathe on it's own." Clockwork said. I sighed in relief.

"Okay, when do I wake up?" I asked. He smiled. "Soon. Maybe another week while your body heals itself emotionally." Clockwork said. I nodded.

"A week. What can I do in a week?" I asked. Clockwork shrugged. "Organize your brain, make sure that all of your memories are there, make sure the memories that aren't yours stay out." He said. I nodded, already shuffling through my memories.

"I just want to let you know, when Sam tells you something, you can't freak out. I know you will remember that, so don't freak out." He pointed, then disappeared. I stared at the spot he once occupied but shrugged.

I'll cross that bridge when I get there.

My hearing didn't work and neither did my eyes, so the time that I was trapped in my mind, I was alone. I didn't know how Sam was or how my parents were. I didn't even know what time it was.

I knew that I was about to wake up when my head started to ache. "Jesus Christ." I moaned, trying to rub my temples, but my arms felt weighed down. The darkness started to go away, a dull red in it's place.

My eyelids fluttered open to a hospital room, the monitor beeping steadily next to me. I suppressed a groan when I saw it was around three a.m. I sat up in bed, hitting the button for the nurse and waiting patiently. The nurse came in, a wide smile on her face.

"Mr. Fenton! It is good that you're awake!" She said excitedly. I shrugged, my body aching.

"Where is everyone?" I asked, kind of sadly. "We sent them home. The girl was asleep and your father carried her home. She hasn't left your side." She smiled reassuringly. I nodded, smiling in relief.

"I'm okay...right?" I asked.

"Other than major blood loss that was fixed when you got here, you should be good. Do you want to walk around? Get something to eat? You can roll around the IV." She said, preparing to help me stand. My muscles hurt, but not as bad as the last time I woke up in an hospital bed. I stood up, grabbing ahold of the IV stand next to me.

"Good, good. Muscles all seem to be working, and you seem to have all of your memories." The nurse, Jacklyn, commented. I nodded. "So you guys thought I was brain-dead?" I asked casually. She gaped but nodded. "...How?"

"Just a lucky guess...and I may have been told that." I smirked. She shook her head, rolling her eyes. "Are you feeling alright? Any nausea?" She asked. I shook my head. I felt great aside from the stiff muscles.

"...When will I get to see my family?" I asked. We were walking towards the patient cafeteria, a good thing since my stomach was growling. "In the morning. We will contact them to tell them you are awake...or do you want it to be a surprise? You weren't supposed to wake up this early." She smirked.

I grinned, nodding. "It'll be a good surprise...right? They won't be offended?" I asked. She laughed. "Usually not. We've done this with many patients who wake up early. They get really happy when they see that you've opened your eyes." She explained. I nodded, grateful to be doing something nice for my loved ones.

I looked down to my arms, which weren't covered, and blushed sheepishly. "Anyway I could get a long sleeved something? I don't really like…" I trailed off when she nodded. "I could ask your parents to bring you some warmer clothes for when you wake up." She offered. "That would be great."

We walked around the hospital a bit before the doctor pulled me back into my room to check on my vitals and make sure everything was normal. "You are a healthy, happy teenager it seems. That's great news." He smiled warmly. "I'm going to go home for a nice rest. You should get some sleep too. We'll wake you up bright and early for breakfast." He winked. I nodded, and laid down, shutting my eyes.

…

"Mr. Fenton, breakfast!" A voice chimed into my brain. I groaned, my body feeling cold and groggy, but sat up anyway.

Nurse Jacklyn was holding up a tray of eggs, sausage, and toast. I wrinkled my nose at the toast. "I don't like toast." I grumped. She rolled her eyes, pulling the slices of bread of the plate and setting it down on my patient table.

"There you go, good thing I may have brought you a donut from the outside. Figured you may need it. We got some test results back from the check up last night. You have a minor concussion and some small fractures on the ribs and legs. We are surprised you didn't feel that when you were walking around." She frowned. I shrugged.

"I've walked around school with a broken ankle before, so it's no big." I shrugged, picking at the eggs that seemed to be a neon yellow. Hardly edible. Jacklyn held out the donut, jelly filled, and smiled. "I'm not supposed to do that, but you are teenager. You deserve real food for all that you've done for this town." She nodded, handing me the pastry and leaving the room.

I smiled at her retreating frame, before digging into the donut. It was just the right amount of _yas_.

I finished the donut and flipped through the TV channels, landing on a morning news show.

"_Good Morning, and I am Jane Michealson. It has been two weeks since the brave Danny Fenton sacrificed himself to get rid of the ghost that had been taunting him for two years, Depression. Daniel Fenton had collapsed outside of the town hall that fateful, much to the panic of girlfriend Samantha Manson and surrounding townsfolk. Depression has not been seen since, but neither has our savior._

_Doctors have not released any information on Fenton's condition, but it is certain that it will be a battle for him to wake up._

_Now to Al for the weather._"

I blinked up at the monitor and smirked. "Not much of a battle, was it?" I screamed at it, much to the surprise of the doctor who had walked in. "Well...uhm." I cleared my throat, turning off the TV and smiling sheepishly to the Doctor who just laughed. "Nice to see you all peppy in the morning. Anyways, your family is on their way. We told them to bring you warm clothes, mostly long sleeves and sweatpants, and your sister is with them. This should be a great day." Doctor Johnson said, closing the door to my room with a slight click.

I took a deep breath. This was nothing to be worried about. This was my family, not reporters or newcasters. I was going to be fine.

The voices of my family wafted to me from the hallway and I buried myself in the covers, hoping to look asleep. The room door opened and the light flicked back on, my mother's voice coming to my ears.

"Any change in his condition?" She asked. Doctor Johnsons face was collected when I peeked, before shutting my eyes again.

"Somewhat. There has been some movement here and there, explaining the position he's in at the moment." He said. I _was _currently in the fetal position.

"Don't forget the sleep talking. I've been doing a lot of that." I said, my voice slightly muffled. Jacklyn scoffed but retained her composure.

"Ah yes, sleep talking. A lot of that." He laughed. "Don't forget walking." I said, shifting my legs so I could pounce on the closest family member. I am light weight, so they should be fine.

"Yep. Maybe we should tie him back into that bed, Jacklyn."

"Doctor what's going on?"

"There is one more thing you should know." Jacklyn said, her voice serious and quiet. My family members paused in fear as she waited. Their backs were to me now, looking at the small girl in front of him.

"...The most drastic change in his condition, is…"

I pounced on my dads back.

"I LIVEEEEE!" I screeched. My family screamed in relief and took me into their arms, sinking to the floor. "Oh my god! We thought that you had somehow died!" My dad said, my mom and Jazz agreeing. "But I was talking?" I cocked an eyebrow. "Whatever." My mom said, kissing my forehead.

"Sam's coming." Tucker said, pausing when he saw me blink at him.

"Oh." He laughed, hugging me tightly. "I'm glad you are back bro. Sam is walking slowly so, you should go get her and tell her the good news!" Tucker smirked. I looked to my mom, who nodded. "She's been the one who has been the most diligent in making sure she's by your side, apart from me." Mom winked.

"She thinks you are dead, according to the doctor. We alerted them of a change in your condition this morning." Jacklyn said. I blinked at them, blushing awkwardly before taking off down the hallway. "WALK." Jacklyn's voice evaded my ears as I rushed to find Sam, who was standing at the end of the corridor, looking down at her shoes.

I walked up to her until I was right in front of her. She gasped when she saw my feet, looking up at me.

"What's up, Buttercup?" I smirked, winking. She grinned and leapt into my arms, smashing my lips to hers. I smiled into the kiss, the kiss itself becoming a giggling, smiling mess.

"I'm so glad you are awake." She whispered, resting her forehead on mine.

"Daniel, you should be more careful!" Jacklyn said from behind me, holding up a plastic bag. "Put on your warm clothes. The items you mentioned are in there." She paused, looking to make sure I understood. I nodded and followed her back into my room. "You wanna help me put these on?" I asked to Sam suggestively, who giggled into the palm of her hand.

"Not in the hospital Mr. Fenton." Jacklyn said over her shoulder. I blushed but kept my smirk, laughing the whole time.

"Alright, now we need to talk a little bit. Now that you are awake, that doesn't mean you get to leave right away."

"What?" I whined, the doctors making me sit back down. Sam chuckled but didn't take her hand out of mine.

"Danny, you were in a coma for two weeks." Jacklyn deadpanned. "You need to continue to get some medicine and make sure you don't die in your sleep because of the concussion. You slept through most of it, so it won't be long, three days tops." Doctor Johnson said.

I pouted but nodded, the doctors leaving me in the room with my family, Sam, and Tucker. We talked a little bit. School had ended and Lancer had given me A's on my finals since I was not there to take them. I sighed in relief. "So I'm all set to graduate?" I asked. They nodded.

"Good." I said. I watched as they all made plans for the summer, including me. Tucker wouldn't be leaving for Tech Camp until July, thank god, and said he would bring in his laptop to play doom.

My eyes started to get heavy as I laid back on the bed, letting them discuss things. I nodded from time to time, but eventually fell asleep.

…

_Sam's POV_

I noticed Danny getting tired around the time Tucker told him he would bring his laptop to play Doom. I watched him as he fell asleep, his grip on my hand going slack as his body relaxed. I smiled fondly at him.

"We are probably going to go ride roller coasters sometime! What do you think about that, Danny?" Jazz said, but smiled warmly when she noticed he was asleep. "Aw, thats cute." She winked at our hands.

"Shut up." I grumbled, blushing slightly. "That's our cue to get dinner. Do you want us to grab something for you Sam?" Mrs. Fenton asked.

"Salad? No chicken, extra onions, extra croutons. Probably should grab a burger or something for him." I said. "And Mrs. Fenton? Thanks." I thanked. She smiled. "Anytime."

Tucker made a crude hand gesture at me, before being pulled out the door with Jazz, which promptly shut after they had left.

"Okay, you should cuddle with me." Danny's tired voice startled me. I rolled my eyes. "Don't think that is allowed." I said, squeezing his hand.

"Don't care. Just don't pull out my IV and you are golden." He said, pulling me closer. I sighed but complied, climbing into the hospital bed. I wrapped my arms around his waist and rested my head on his chest. He sighed, laying his chin on the top of my head.

"Don't do that again." I said, lifting my head and kissing his lips softly. He hummed and nodded. "I'll never leave you again. I swear." He said, but his eyes knew that he could very well be put in the hospital again.

And considering that….

I'm not thinking about that yet.

I don't even know for sure.


	22. Chapter 22

_Danny's POV_

I woke up with Sam in my arms around six in the afternoon. She was still sleeping peacefully and there was no sign that my parents had come back. I pulled away her hair from her face and smiled at her sleeping form, wondering how I had gotten so lucky that she had come into my life again.

"It's not going to last you know." A voice snapped next to me. A black haired, yellow eyed boy sat next to my bed, his arms crossed and he was pouting.

"I defeated you." I said in a whisper. D rolled his eyes and pointed up, phasing out of the room to where he pointed. I sighed, knowing I had to go after him. I gently pulled out my IV, somehow got out of bed without waking up Sam, pulled on a pair of black sweats and a white t-shirt, and followed him.

"What do you want?" I growled, ecto energy glowing in my hands. D sat down on the ground and gazed up at the afternoon sky. I noticed my parents walking into the hospital and panicked. That's not good.

"Can I tell you something?" He asked, sounding sincere. I sat down next to him. "Sure whatever. You seem powerless. Not like you could hurt me anyway." I snapped.

He rolled his eyes and looked at me. "Now that all my depression is gone, I feel really bad for what I did to you, okay? I had no other emotions except anger and sadness and I wanted it all to go away. So I made kids kill themselves and join me in an eternity of servitude. Now all of them moved on and I'm alone." His face scrunched up in remorse.

"My own family hates me now." He said, pulling his knees up to his chest. "You just told me that my relationship with Sam wasn't going to last." I deadpanned. He looked once again at the sky, taking a deep breath. "When you kissed Sam, she didn't feel the exact same as you. She went after you, because she knew it may be a better way to fix you. She wouldn't even deny it when I confronted her about it." He told me.

I froze and blinked at me. "...what?"

"I didn't want to tell you. I don't want to tell you anything that could hurt you anymore, but I wanted you to know the truth." D said.

"Depre-" I was cut off by an angry glare. "My name is Dylan Smith. Please call me Dylan." He hissed. I flinched out of habit and sighed. "Dylan...how do I know you aren't lying?" I asked. "You don't, but I've never lied to you before." He nodded.

He got up and went to fly away. "Look," I started, making him pause, "If you even need someone to talk to...I'm here. You can't keep putting emotions on other people. Talk about them. Apologize to your family. They'll forgive you. Maybe when they do, you can move on." I told him.

He didn't look back at me, but I could see the small smile on his face as he flew away. I sat on the roof for a little bit, thinking about what D had said. "I'll ask Sam about it." I decided, phasing back into my room where no one was at, but there was a panic spreading through the hospital. "Have you seen Danny Fenton recently?" I heard Sam ask. "I'm right here." I said, standing in the hallway.

Everyone sighed in relief, before an angry Jacklyn made her way over to me, pushing me onto my bed and reattaching the IV. "Don't do it again." She warned, making her way out of the room. The doctor winked at me and pulled out the IV again. "You don't really need it anymore. Jacklyn is just playing it safe." Johnson said. I nodded and looked at Sam, who was relieved and angry.

"I don't know what you were thinking young man." Mom said. I sighed. "Ghost problem." I muttered. They nodded and looked at me in concern. "Who was it?" Tucker asked. "No one that was a problem." I said, annoyance lacing my tone. "Sam, can I talk to you?" I asked. Everyone left the room immediately, seeing that I was angry.

"...What?" She asked in a quiet tone. I fiddled with my shirt, trying to find the words. The more I thought about it, the more angry I felt. "When I kissed you the first time, in the park, exactly how did you feel? And don't you dare think about lying to me." I said, testing her. She paled slightly and sighed.

"...I don't know...I knew that you were hurting and might have been confused, so I made myself go after you. I didn't want to, because I felt that I would be taking advantage of you, but I thought that I could….you know." She trailed off. My face must have been hurt, because she stopped.

"You wanted to what?" I asked, my voice breaking. "...Fix you." She muttered, looking down at the palms of my hands.

I shot a hurt look at her, before my face became angry and I glared. "So you are exactly like Stella." I snapped, getting up out of bed. "Danny, please! You don't understand!" She pleaded, following me out in the hallway. I stomped away, my feet stinging with the intensity. I ignored all of the doctors telling me I should be resting and made my way into the waiting room, and outside. "Daniel Fenton, You-" "I got it Mr. Fenton." Sam's tired voice said. I ignored her, feeling more angry.

"Danny, you can't run away from me!" She screamed at my rushed body. Nobody was outside right now and the sun was starting to set. "Why shouldn't I?" I yelled back, pausing but not turning around.

"Because I'm pregnant, god dammit!" She screamed, her voice becoming angry. I stopped, turning around sharply and my eyes wide. "You are what." I whispered, my voice a high pitched squeal. "I'm pregnant...or at least there is a big change I am." She said, looking down at her feet then back at my eyes.

I blinked.

"Are you going to say anything?" She asked worriedly. I pulled my mouth into a tight line, my eyes still wide, and replied, "I don't know if I can."

"...I can't do it without you." She said, her voice tired.

"Is it mine?"

"Of-fucking-course?" Sam snapped. "What did you think I did while you were asleep? Fucked around? Fuck you!" She screeched. "Woah, woah, wait, what the hell? I didn't mean it like that!" I snapped back.

"Sure as hell sounded like it!" She snapped going to get into her car. "Wow, what a child!" I yelled at her car.

"Fuck you."

"Already did!" I screamed, ignoring her huff of annoyance. I stomped back into the hospital, my parents staring at me in suspense. I took some deep breaths when it hit me.

"Holy shit." I whispered. "What?" My dad asked, his eyebrows furrowed. "hoLY SHIT." I screamed, my legs feeling weak and falling to the ground.

"What the hell is the matter with you?" Tucker asked, my family standing over me as the doctors came over with a wheelchair. "He must have overexerted himself. We have to make sure he didn't worsen any of his injuries."

"HOLY SHIT." I screamed again as I was put into the chair. My family was smirking in amusement, but their eyes were worried. "Are you going to tell us what's wrong?" They asked, following the doctor, who was rolling me back to my room.

"I don't know if I can? Sam's pissed, I was pissed, now I'm kinda scared, nervous, and I kinda need to throw up." I said, probably look a bit green. "Don't dO THAT." Tucker screeched as I got up a puked into a trashcan.

"What the hell did she do, drug him?" Jazz asked. My mom's eyes widened in realization. "She told him! Danny, where is she now?" She asked. I looked at her with a sheepish grin.

She glared. "What did you do." She snapped. "I may have offended her?" I laughed. She hit me upside the head and Jacklyn froze as she hissed something that sounded like "He's concussed!"

My mom pulled me into my room. My eyes felt a bit droopy from over-exertion and I felt like I was going to faint. "What did you say?"

"I asked if it was mine." I said simply, feeling more and more lightheaded.

"Of course it was, you dumb!" She hissed. I smiled nervously and started to breathe in and out more and more often. "Oh god." I mumbled, feeling dizzy. Jacklyn waited outside the door. "Mrs. Fenton, it seems he may be having a panic attack." She whispered.

"Sam's pregnant." I wheezed.

I blacked out.

…

"...wake up sometime soon?" I heard a voice. I stifled a groan and squeezed my eyes, trying to blink them open. 

"We don't know why he fainted, or why he's been asleep for this long. It's like he slipped back into the coma." I heard another voice say. I opened my eyes to the bright lights of my hospital room. I was hooked back into my IV and my muscles ached.

"Mom?" I whispered, my throat hoarse. "Oh thank god." I heard her say, and I smiled weakly. I yawned. "What time is it?" I asked, trying to lift my arm to my eye to rub it, but found I couldn't move. I felt really weak.

"It's ten a.m." She said, her voice sad. "...what day is it?" I asked. She sighed. "You've been asleep for another week. You fainted and then didn't wake up. Is there anything you want?" She asked. I lifted myself on weak arms to sit up. I could tell by their faces that I looked really sick.

"...I want to go home." I whispered, hugging my knees to my chest. She nodded and looked at the doctors who shrugged. "We are just going to take a blood test and see what's going on and then we can send you home with a nurse checking up on you everyday." I nodded weakly, and Jacklyn took my blood, then set me up in a wheel chair. My dad wheeled me out to the car and put me inside. I rested my head against the window, glad to be going back home.

I cleared my throat as my dad pulled onto the road. "Is Sam okay?" I asked, weakly. Mom turned and looked at me. "She's worried. We all were. She's waiting at home... you missed her birthday." She whispered. I closed my eyes, hitting my head on the window.

I'm just fucking up all over the place, lately.

"I'm gonna be okay, right?" I asked. Mom froze but nodded. "As soon as they get test results back, they will know for sure." She smiled weakly.

"What did they tell you?" I asked, swallowing thickly. I was really thirsty. She sighed. "They think it may be some type of cancer from the ecto-radiation levels that emit from you every time you transform." She whispered.

My eyes widened. "I don't have cancer!" I snapped weakly. She held her hands up. "I don't think you do either. The test will tell us for sure."

The rest of the car ride was quiet. Did I have cancer? I couldn't. I had to be there for Sam. I thought about other possibilities of what could be wrong with me. When I woke up the first time, I was always really tired, falling asleep when I probably should be energized. I was definitely weak now and was really thirsty.

Dad pulled into the driveway, making sure to block the hundreds of paparazzi. What? "Who are all these people?" I asked. Mom rolled her eyes. "They are reporters wanting to know of your condition. I guess they get to know today." She sighed. "I wish they would leave us alone." She muttered, thinking I couldn't hear her. I felt a lot of guilt when she said that.

Because I caused them to be here.

Dad got into the back, and I heard screams when he pulled out the wheelchair. "Did Mr. Phantom pull through?" One asked.

"Is he okay?"

"Is he spending his final moments at home?"

They all asked numerous questions and it was _pissing_ me off. I growled in annoyance as I was taken from the car and put into the wheelchair. Now that I was visible to the public, pictures were being snapped of me and reporters were directing questions my way. As my dad struggled to roll the wheelchair past them, I tapped into my ghost energy.

I stood up, glowing slightly because my ghost powers were literally keeping me standing right now, and shouted. "Listen up!" Everyone quieted. My mom glared at me from my side but I ignored her.

"I'm fine, I'm not dying and I'm going to be okay. I woke up from a basically three week long sleep and just got home, so I don't want to hear _shit _from you guys until _I _say. Now can you get into your stupid ass vans and leave me the _fuck ALONE_!" I shouted, watching in satisfaction as they rushed to their vans and left. I felt dizzy again and sat back down, shaking my head.

"You could've been nicer." Sam's voice said from the doorway, a small smile on her face. "Sam, could you set him up in his room, please?" My mom asked, taking Dad's arm and leading him into the kitchen, where I knew they were talking about me.

"What's up, buttercup?" I muttered weakly. She laughed slightly, her eyes shiny with tears. "I'm sorry." I whispered as she hugged me. "I should be sorry. I made you faint. If you don't want to keep it, we don't have to." She said, but I knew in her eyes that wasn't what she wanted.

"So you know for sure?" I asked as she suddenly picked me up bridal style and carried me up the stairs. "You know I can _probably _walk on my own, right?"

"Nah. You look like shit. And yeah, I know for sure. Doctors tested me professionally." She explained, finally getting to the top of the stairs and letting me lean on her and walk. "...I'm nervous." I admitted. She nodded. "I know." She whispered. I put my arms on her waist and kissed her softly, letting her lean me against the doorway and run her finger through my hair.

"Sam, can you wait? He should be in bed." My sister's voice nagged. I groaned and pulled away, glaring in her direction. "I just got home, can I kiss my girlfriend?" I asked.

"Do you remember being mad?" Jazz asked, ignoring the sharp glare from Sam.

"_I forced myself to run after you, because I thought I could fix you_." Sam's voice rung true in my mind, but I didn't care.

"Yes. But I also remember that she's pregnant and it is mine. Sorry by the way." I grinned lovingly at her. She giggled and nodded. "It's okay." She laughed. "Sorry for making you faint and fall asleep for a week." I shrugged, feeling abnormally tired. She saw this and gently laid me down on my bed, which was comfortable and had Sam's mattress on it.

"Did you move in?" I asked weakly as she pulled up the black comforter. She nodded, winking. "I decorated it more suited to my tastes." She smirked.

I closed my eyes and fell into a fitful sleep.

…

I woke up several hours later to the voices of my worried family members downstairs. I already felt better due to resting, so I got up and sat down at the top of the stairs, listening into the family meeting I wasn't invited to.

"Danny is really sick. Doctors say that if it is cancer, they will give a two month estimate on how long he's gonna live." My mom explained. I rolled my eyes. I knew it wasn't going to be cancer.

"So what do we do when the test results come back?" Sam asked worriedly. "If it's what the doctors think, then we lie. We lie until he dies." Mom said. I gasped quietly. That was really their plan of action, somethings never change.

I bit my lip and went into the bathroom. Dylans hold on me maybe gone, but all those feelings I felt before were still there. For the first time in a long time, I felt like cutting.

It was my fault that my parents were like this. My fault Sam was pregnant. My fault Jazz is getting a D in psychology because I can't stay better. A tear fell down my face. "It's all my fault." I sniffed, sliding down the wall, letting myself cry. I decided to take a shower, then they could know that I was awake and they could wrap up their meeting.

I turned on the water to a lukewarm temperature and stepped out of my clothes. I stepped under the water and took a shower for the first time in weeks. I washed my hair and my body and made sure to get really clean and smell nice. I eyed Jazz's razor.

One cut won't hurt.

I took her razor and stepped on it, figuring she had extras. If not, I'll replace it with one of mine. They all look the same. I picked up one of the tiny blades that could do so much damage and brought it to my skin.

The last time I cut in the shower, I almost died. My first techincal 'suicide attempt'. I hissed as I dug the razor into my skin, making a deep slit across the skin. The blood that blossomed out was quickly washed away from water. I made another, then another, until I felt better about being guilty. My arm was red and irritated, but I felt blissful, and complete.

Why did I ever stop doing this?

I got out of the shower, hid the razor in my hand, and wrapped a towel around my waist. I threw away the fragments of Jazz's razor and picked up the other blades. Sam and Tucker had thrown away my old ones, so I might as well work up another stash. It's going to be hard to cut with Sam living with me, but I'll just do it in the shower.

I'll tell her the bandages are from ghost fights.

If she wants to lie, I'm going to lie right back. I went into my room, hurrying because the blood was starting to leak faster from my wounds. I closed and locked the door, drying the blood with a towel and wrapping up my wrists with practiced ease. I pulled a short sleeved, white t-shirt and some black sweatpants, then looking at the blood stained towel.

How am I going to explain that?

Thinking quick, I grabbed a blade and made a cut inside my nose, making it bleed. I nodded as the blood flowed from the wound, near my upper lip, and held the towel up to my nose.

Perfect.

I stepped out of my room and down the stairs, coming up to my family.

"My nose is bleeding." I said, scaring my mom, who paled at the sight of the towel. "How?" She asked.

"I tripped and fell out of the shower and landed on my face." I explained as she inspected the nose.

"Yeah, its definitely bleeding. Keep the towel on it. I'll just throw that away later...why are your wrists wrapped up?" She asked quietly, making everyone focus on me.

"I'm really insecure about the marks on them...I don't want to flaunt them and it's too hot to wear long sleeves." I said awkwardly. She nodded and hugged me. "If that's what you want to do, you can. I won't stop you." She said, patting my cheek and smiling.

I smiled back, feeling guilty again. I bit my lip and went into the living room. Sam went upstairs to, I assume, take a shower. I sighed and sat down on the couch, listening to my family members start to do their nightly routines.

"Really?" D's voice hissed, his form appearing. "Get out of my house." I mumbled, turning on the TV. "You cut yourself in the nose so that they wouldn't know you cut yourself?" He asked, looking angry.

"You are being a hypocrite." I said, rolling my eyes. "I feel bad for everything that I did for you, and before I move on, I gotta get you to break these habits." His eyes narrowed. "Tell them how you are feeling." He nodded.

"_I'll _be here to talk, and to keep a close eye on you. Seems like everyone in this house is too stupid to notice when you are falling off the wagon." He rolled his eyes.

"Cameron and Frank forgave me, and I came to tell you I was moving on, but now I'm not. I can survive here until you get to the point to know you are okay. I don't want you to end up like me." He nodded, a small smile on his face before phasing out. I sighed.

"Hey little brother?" Jazz's voice said from the kitchen. My legs started to hurt as I went to her, leaning heavily on the counter.

"Yes?" I asked quietly. She smiled warmly. "What do you want for dinner?" She smirked, holding up a wooden spoon. I looked away and didn't answer her question, crossing my arms. "Danny?" She asked worriedly, all humor away from her face. Great.

"Do you want to know what I really want, Jazz?" I asked. She nodded. I took a deep breath. "I want you to forget about everything that I'm going through. I want you to go back to Harvard and become the psychiatrist that you've always wanted to be. I want my family to stop worrying so much. I want Sam to stop thinking she has to keep things from me. I want you to stop lying to me." I breathed heavily for a second, my vision swimming.

I could hear everyone else gathering in the entryway. "I want you to tell me the truth when the doctors say what I have. If I have two months to live, I die in two months. No use in keeping it from me, I'm going to know sooner or later. I'm so sick and tired of being treated like I'm made of paper, that even one wrong word would send me back to the hospital, and that'd I'd never wake up.

Tomorrow, Jazz, pack up your shit and go get an education. I am holding you back and it makes me feel bad and you know I do bad things when I feel guilty." I swallowed. I would probably have to tell them about me cutting. Fuck.

"In return….I won't lie to you guys," I mumbled, watching as my family stepped closer and Jazz looked close to tears, "I didn't have a nosebleed, okay? Well, I did but it was forced. I could hear you talking about how you were going to lie to me about me not being sick until I died. I felt guilty because everyone was being held back. So I did something stupid. I'm not going to say it, because I already feel like maiming my entire body at the moment so I'll pass on that.

That's my offer. I'll let you guys sleep on it, or something." I finished, walking past them and out the door, not caring that I didn't have shoes on. I walked away from my house and into the park, sitting down on a bench. "Was that hard?" A curious voice said to my left. Dylan was sitting next to me, his hood down and sleeves rolled up.

"I felt like I was going to explode or cry the entire time." I nodded, swallowing around the burning in my throat that I always get when I hold in tears. "It was hard." I whispered, closing my eyes and letting a single tear flow in between my eyelids.

"...I couldn't have done what you did." Dylan said. "I couldn't have told them that I heard them talking to me, or that I cut myself because of it. I wouldn't have told them that even just telling them that I had made me want to cut myself more. You are way stronger than I could ever be." He sighed. I couldn't see him, but I felt him shift. If I opened my eyes, I would start crying. I didn't want to cry anymore.

"I'm going to get better." I whispered, my voice sad. I opened my eyes, a few more tears falling, and I hugged my body. "They are probably worried about you." D offered. I shrugged. "I have places I can go…" I whispered, getting up and starting to walk towards one of the only friends that would understand me.

Jack Overland.


	23. Chapter 23

I walked down the long road to the apartment where Hayden and Jack were staying. It was quiet, and no one was out. There was a mandatory curfew set in since my accident and no one was allowed to be outside after seven, to minimize teenage drinking.

I walked up the fire escape, seeing the two in question on their bed and OH MY GOODNESS. I tapped on the glass, shielding my eyes. I heard a rustling and Jack appeared at the window, his hair messier than usual. His face brightened as he saw me and opened the window. "We weren't even doing that, calm yourself." Hayden's muffled voice said.

"Well when you see two guys making out shirtless, you think things are going down." I rolled my eyes. They both sat there and looked at me. I probably looked like a wreck. "So...how's life been?" Jack asked, worry in his eyes.

I laughed. "Where should I start?" I asked, feeling tired and relieved that I was with my best friend. I considered Jack my best friend because he was _there _for me when I was at Other Ways. He was like the brother I never had, besides Tucker who had been drifting apart.

Jack got up and hugged me tightly. "You can start wherever you want." He said. I laughed, tearing up, hugging him tighter.

"Well...the last time I saw you, we double dated with Cameron. We didn't work out." I said, feeling a pang of sadness. I fiddled with my bandages. "Is that a good thing or a bad thing?" He asked. I shrugged. "Depends. She didn't accept all of me, but still cared for me. So it was a win win lose lose situation." I mumbled, looking at him.

"Do you know my secret?" I asked, quietly. He shook his head. "I've been cut off from all outside television. The dish is out in the complex." Jack growled. Hayden rolled his eyes. Their eyes widened when I transformed suddenly, leaving Danny Phantom in my place.

"Oh fucking hell. This is going to sound really awkward." Hayden rubbed the back of his neck as Jack laughed. I raised an eyebrow. "Hayden has a crush on you!" Jack cackled. Hayden blushed.

"That makes both of you." I deadpanned, remembering a conversation where Jack told me he'd bang me. Jack stopped laughing and blushed as well. "You guys are dating, maybe you should stick to liking each other!" I smiled, changing back to Fenton.

"Either way, that's my secret, and Cameron didn't like that part of me. So she left. A day later, I had sex with Sam-"

"What the fuck?" Jack yelled. I jumped. "What?" I asked in annoyance.

"Really? Sam? I thought she had Ethan, or whatever his name was." Jack asked. I shook my head. "I guess they didn't work out, but yeah I fucked her, she's pregnant, I almost died and have been in a coma for technically three weeks, and I might have cancer." I said, taking a deep breath after I said everything.

Jack gaped at me as Hayden looked at me in sympathy. "But you don't know for sure?" Jack asked quietly, his voice sad. I nodded. "Then it may be something else. You'll be okay." He said, smiling brightly.

Thank god for Snowflake and his bright outlook on life. Hayden continued to look at me in sympathy. Hayden was more down to earth. He knew the dangers cancer had.

"Wait, hold up, Sam's pregnant? You do know you should wrap it before you tap it right?" Jack said, raising an eyebrow. I scoffed. "Thanks, but I wasn't really thinking about that."

"...Well, are you guys dating?" Hayden asked. I nodded. "Yeah, and I ran out of the house today after I told them I wanted them to continue their lives, and if I was supposed to be in them, I would be. I told them I cut again today, and then left. Fuck, they are probably so worried." I groaned, laying my face in my hands. "I'll call Sam, you guys go downstairs and start a movie, or something." Hayden offered. I nodded.

"Come with us, maybe I should be near just in case she wants to talk to me." I muttered, letting Jack pulled me down the stairs, Hayden following closely behind.

"Hello, this is Hayden." Hayden said into his phone. There was a confused noise on the other line.

"Haddock."

"...the dude with one leg. Danny's friend? Am I ringing any bells here?" Hayden's annoyed voice said. "Yeah, he's over here with me and Jack."

"Jack and I." Jack teased.

"F u, Jack." Hayden hissed. "My address? Well, uh… I don't know if I should…" Hayden mumbled. "He's going to stay here tonight." Jack took the phone, saying that suddenly. I heard a sad sighed over the phone. "Do you want to stay the night with two gay guys and a straight guy who both of us wish were gay in some way shape or form?" Jack said, sifting through the DVD's with the phone on his shoulder.

Hayden scoffed and I rolled my eyes. "Okay. Eastside apartments, 201." Jack said, smirking at us. I raised an eyebrow. Did he actually…?

"See you soon." Jack hung up the phone. "She wants to have a foursome." Jack said nonchalantly.

"Excuse me? I'll pass." Hayden said, his voice high pitched as I paled. Jack laughed. "I'm just kidding, but she does want to come over to talk to _you _face to face." Jack explained. I gulped and nodded.

"Let's watch Nightmare before Christmas!" Jack said happily. Hayden raised an eyebrow. "It's June."

"Speaking of, how long are you guys staying in Amity?" I asked. Hayden sighed. "My dad is continuing paying rent here, so we are thinking of registering for Casper High. Home schooling sucks when you are teaching yourself everything. I still got great grades." Hayden explained. I nodded, a wide grin on my face.

"You guys should totally register! I go to casper. Or you know, I do when I'm not asleep for twenty years." I said, laughing slightly.

"Are you okay?" Jack asked. I shrugged. "I'm getting there." I looked at my arms, which were covered in bandages, watching the blood start to form on top of the white. "I mess up now and then, but I know Other Ways wouldn't help me anymore, so I don't check in. I just need to be honest with my family and Sam and I'll be fine." I said. They nodded, smiling smalley.

A knock on the door interrupted our little bonding session. "You get that, I'll start the movie." Jack said. I nodded, getting up, my legs hurting with the movements. Definitely needed to take it easy.

I opened the door, looking at my pale faced girlfriend who was in her pajama's, smiling with relief. She rushed into my arms, placing her lips on mine. I closed the door and leaned against the wall, gripping her waist.

"Please don't ever leave again." She whimpered when she broke the kiss. I nodded. "Never again. I'm sorry, I just didn't know how to answer any questions you would've had." I said, placing my forehead on hers. She nodded, looking at my wrists. "Did you just wrap these, or did you disinfect them." She said, gently running her hands over the bandages. I looked away.

"...They'll get infected, dimwitt!" She tisked, pulling me into the living room, where Jack and Hayden sat, blinking up at us. "Hey. Where is your bathroom?" She asked sweetly. I gaped. She could be sweet?

"You can be sweet?"

"Shut up asshole."

"Make me, nitwit."

"Fuck you."

"Already did."

"GUYS!" Hayden screamed. Jack was trying not a laugh in the corner, setting the movie up. "It's down the hallway."

"Thanks!" She smiled hurriedly, rushing me down the hall. I glowered at her as she unwrapped, pausing slightly to look at the marks. She put her lips to them, kissing them.

"You don't need to do this anymore." She whispered. "If you need a distraction, I'm all the distraction you need." She said, kissing my lips. I gulped, because damn. She disinfected the cuts, which made me yelp really loud. "Don't be such a baby."

"Fuck you."

She imitated my voice. "Already did."

"I do _not _sound like that."

"I do _not _sound like that." She copied. I rolled my eyes, her copying me with every move I made. "STOP."

"_STOP_." She yelled. I pouted, and when she copied my face I smiled smalley. "That's actually really cute." I said, tilting my head to the side. She blushed and rolled her eyes. She pecked my forehead, making me smile. "You are cuter."

"I don't know if I love your relationship or find it annoying." Jack's voice said, his eyes peeking at us from the living room. I flipped him off and kissed her full on the lips. "But baby, after everything we shared." His voice whined.

"Jack, I am not gay!" I said, tearing my lips from Sam's who laughed. "You wish you were!" He screamed back, a large smile on his face. I went back into the living room, Sam following closely behind. "Why, so I can be with you?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Obviously." Jack said, rolling his eyes like the answer was obvious. I scoffed. "I would _so _not date _you_. I like auburns with one leg." I said, plopping myself in Hayden's waist, who rolled his eyes, but steadied me anyway.

"Please get off." He said.

"No. You have a crush on me."

Hayden blushed and pushed me off, and I hit the floor hard. Sam laughed slightly and sat down next to Jack. I pouted and sat next to her, flipping Hayden off.

"Hayden has a crush on me." I said to Sam. "So I've heard."

"Yeah. We got into town a couple months ago and he goes, 'Wow, Danny Phantom is pretty fucking hot, I would totally tap that,' and when Danny told us today that _he _was Phantom, I laughed _so_ hard." Jack explained to Sam, who giggled into the palm of her hand. I smiled and watched as they interacted.

Then my ghost sense went off. "UH-I've got to go to the bathroom." I suddenly yelled, sprinting into said room. They all watched me go, confused smiles on their face. I transformed and phased through the roof.

I guess going to the bathroom to transform was out of habit. Everyone knew now. I shook my head and looked for the perpetrator. And then I was in the ground.

I 'oofed' as I was flung at the ground, making a decent, person-sized, pothole. I groaned and rubbed my head, gasping and flying to the side and dodging a fist coming at my face.

We were attracting a lot of bystanders by now and I held up my hands. "Woah woah, woah. You fall asleep for a couple weeks and suddenly someones trying to kill you!"

"Always trying to kill you, kid." A dark voice said. I narrowed my eyes. "Yeah, never met you before. There is a _long _line of people trying to kill me."

"He is also on his own list!" Someone yelled, being shushed by the others. "Ouch." I said, rolling my eyes.

"Look out people, I have arrived." A figure in a dark black cloak said. His face was, well, weird looking. Like the fact that it was a dark grey with red eyes and red accents. I raised my eyebrows.

"You look like a burnt hotdog with ketchup on it." I thought out loud. I heard a snort and another 'shh'. The figure looked hurt.

"I thought you incapacitated?" He asked.

"I obviously still have my head."

"Danny, that decapitated. Incapacitated means weakish." Sam said from the window, rolling her eyes. I snapped my fingers, pointing at her. "Gotcha."

I guess she suddenly realized I was in a battle, because she suddenly glared at me and closed the window.

"Trouble in paradise?" The hotdog asked. I shrugged. "I guess? Anyways, who are you?" I asked. He looked like he remembered something, then hit me with a dark red ecto blast. "I am the Scorch! I like to burn my victims alive!"

"I've had worse." And I have. I've almost died before. The 'Scorch' blinked at me. "More so than burning alive?"

"OH yeah." I said, drawing a line in the air. "Burning alive would be at the bottom." I said, getting up and dusting off my hands.

"I haven't fought a ghost in…." I looked up. I honestly didn't know. "I have no idea."

The Scorch smiled, somehow, on his burnt face. "Perfect." He said, suddenly flying up to me and _trying _to hit me in the face. I caught his fist.

"You wanna dance, burnmark? Lets dance." I smirked, kicking his body into the air and flying after him. He tried to set me on fire a couple times, but he always missed. He obviously new at this thing.

He paused, giving pained gasps and holding his sides. "You have a lot of pent up anger." He said. I shrugged, but didn't expect him to kick me to the ground. I tried to land on my feet, but my ankle gave out on me and sent me to the ground.

"More like pent up sadness but that is besides the-_Samantha Manson_." I hissed, watching as Sam made her way to Scorch. "Sam, he can lIGHT FIRES." I shrieked as he turned towards her. She continued walking. "Sam. Stop." I demanded, trying to get her to leave. She came up towards me, holding her hands up where he could see them and knelt down.

"Ice powers." She whispered, getting up and running away. I looked up at the sky. "Duh." I said, grabbing his foot which was sparking and sending ice powers into the leg, making the sparks stop. "Would you-" Scorch said, kicking me in the face, but I continued to smile. He went to light me on fire but it didn't work. "What?" He hissed.

I pulled on the thermos. "Boom. I win!" I winked, sucking him in and capping the thermos, flying away. I picked Sam off of the street and flew to the top of the apartment building, transforming back. "Sam." I stated.

She looked at me nonchalantly, her lips drawn into a line. "What?" She asked. "You're an idiot." I started. She looked offended, but I didn't let her speak as I kissed her lips hard. "And I love you for it. But please don't go into ghost fights from now on." I said, breathing heavily. She nodded, clasping her hands around my neck, pressing her forehead against mine. "...never." She whispered, pressing her lips back to mine. I lifted her up, her feet no longer touching the ground, smiling into the kiss. "Are you feeling okay?" She asked, running her fingers in my hair.

"I always feel okay when I'm with you."

"I mean are you tired, sick, hungry, thirsty?" She deadpanned, but her eyes were happy. I shrugged. Ever since I transformed, I felt a lot better. Even more so when I let out some of my ice energy. "I feel great. Wanna take advantage of that?" I winked. She rolled her eyes.

"Well, I would. But you have a sleepover to get back to." She said, pulling out of my grasp. "How are you getting down?" I asked with a smile. She stopped and shrugged. "Jumping."

I glared at her but smiled, grabbing her waist and phasing down into Jack and Hayden's apartment. They blinked up, red faced, obviously having torn apart from each other. I blinked at them before point to the door. "I'm going to go." I said. They nodded. I rolled my eyes. I pulled Sam outside and continued to walk to her car.

I got in, my feet hurting because I was barefoot, and buckled my seatbelt as she started the car. "I don't want to talk about what I did, okay?" I said, looking at the wrists she wrapped. She nodded. "Your mom could be awake, but you could just walk past and I'll tell her you don't want to talk." Sam said, putting the car in drive and pulling away.

Jack and Hayden don't live far from the school, so I watched as it passed. I missed almost my entire junior year, and when I _was _there...well, it wasn't good. I sighed and looked at Sam, who was focussing on the road in front of her. We passed her house and she didn't even flinch.

"Sammy?" I asked quietly. She glanced my way, a small smile on her face. "Yes?" She asked. I took a deep breath. "When we get enough money, and I turn eighteen, do you want to move out with me?"

I furrowed my eyebrows when I realized I missed my seventeenth birthday because I was asleep.

"Of course. I will always stay with you, no matter what." She said, taking her hand out of her lap and threading her fingers in mine. I felt the overwhelming need to kiss her suddenly. I waited until we got to a red light to grab her face and pull her lips against mine. She hummed in content and threaded her fingers in my hair. We continued for a couple minutes before a loud honk sounded behind us.

We blushed and Sam hit the accelerator, speeding down the street. The car behind us tailgated us for a couple minutes before turning on the street before ours. I chuckled lightly, blushing when I thought about how I had distracted her.

"We can continue that later if you want." She winked.

"I hate you."

"No you don't."

"I know." I sighed. She pulled in my driveway and parked. I pulled off my seatbelt and opened the door, watching as the sun finally set over the horizon, the golden glow disappearing and the moonlight started to illuminate the street. I smiled at Sam, whose silhouette was outlined by the pale light. All the lights were off in the house and I sighed in content, putting my arm around her shoulders.

I opened the door, checking around to see if my mom was awake or around, before slamming Sam into the wall, who gasped in shock. I roughly pressed my lips to hers, slipping my tongue in between her lips. She wrapped her legs around my waist and wrapped her arms around my neck, dropping her keys which clanked loudly on the floor.

Not wanting to waste anytime, or allow anyone to walking in on us, I phased us through the floor into my room, opening my eye slightly to make sure that no one had come into my room. Sam let her feet touch the floor and pushed me onto the bed, removing her shirt in the process.

I laughed as she closed and locked the door, laughing as she ran back over into my arms. I let her press her lips to my neck, making marks into the skin. I removed my own shirt before letting our lips touch again.

…

_ALRIGHTY_


	24. Chapter 24

I woke relaxed and rested. Sam's legs were draped over mine and I laughed quietly, brushing her hairs away from her face. She sighed in her sleep and curled up away from me. I rolled my eyes and got up, checking if anyone was in the hallway before sprinting into the bathroom, because I had no clothes on.

I looked at myself in the mirror. I had various bruises on my body from the fight, a hickey on my neck, and a hickey on my collarbone. I blushed at the red splotches and looked at the bruising instead. I gently pressed in the bruises and hissed.

I sighed, unwrapping my wrists and checked out my body in its full broken glory. How did Sam like this? I'm ugly. The scars are discolored and I just look…._awful_.

"Stop that." Sam's voice demanded from the doorway. I jumped and covered myself with a nearby towel. She rolled her eyes, tracing her fingers across the bruising and scars. "It's not ugly. It's _you_. I don't know how many times I have to tell you this!" She laughed, smiling. I shrugged.

"Until I believe it, I guess." I replied honestly. She nodded. "I'm okay with that. Now, do you want to shower separately or together?" She winked. I rolled my eyes and shrugged.

"Sam? Can I talk to you please?" My mom's voice called, just as I was about to kiss her. Sam laughed. "I guess we are doing this separately." She giggled, pecking my lips, grabbing some dirty basketball shorts and throwing them on under the t-shirt she borrowed from me.

I watched her go and looked at the shower. I don't know if I'm going to be able to _not _cut. Everything was screaming at me that Sam was lying, but I wanted to believe her, that she thought I was perfect. I shook my head and discarded the towel, starting the water and stepped in.

I let the water run down my face and back, sitting down on the floor and...I would like to call it brooding. I was trying to find the light at the end of the tunnel. It was getting easier to find, but harder to hold on to. I sighed, standing, expecting the pain in my legs that didn't come.

I looked to my razor on the left side, closed my eyes and continued getting clean. When I was done, I spared one last look, and exited the shower. I wrapped a towel around my waist and went to my room, pulling on a pair of boxers and sweatpants, towel drying my hair and exiting my room.

"Danny, you have a doctors appointment today." My mom called up to me. I groaned, grabbing a t-shirt off of the floor and throwing it on as well. I would just go barefoot and no one could stop me.

"How are you feeling sweetie?" She asked, ruffling my damp hair. "Better."

"Even though you got into a ghost fight last night?" She raised her eyebrow. I gulped. "Yeah...they may need to fill in the person sized pothole." I said sheepishly.

"...Whats on your neck?" She asked. I slapped a hand over the hickey on my neck, blushing hard core. "Well, I got a burn. From Scorch. The ghost." I said. She nodded.

"Want some burn cream?" She asked, her motherly voice coming through my ears. I shook my head, my face as red as a tomato. "I'm good. Can we just go?" I said. She nodded, putting her wallet in her pocket of her hazmat suit.

"Now, you are probably going to have to get an MRI, and I'm hoping that it isn't as bad as they think." She explained. I nodded, not looking forward to the fact that I might have cancer.

I don't _want _to have cancer. Cancer is probably the last thing that I want. I crossed my arms and glared out the window as we rapidly approached the place that I had spent most of my days lately.

My mom pulled into the parking lot and turned the key in the ignition, turning off the engine. I sighed, unbuckling my seatbelt and opening the door. My mom sat in the car for a moment, mumbling about something, before exiting the car and walking next to me up to the door.

"Daniel Fenton? Welcome back!" Jacklyn smiled. I smiled shakily back. This place gave me bad memories. "Not so good to be back, no offense."

"None taken." She shrugged, handing me a white t-shirt and hospital issued blue sweatpants, gently putting me into an empty room. I pulled on the clothes, having to take a break when a jolt of pain went through my leg. I hadn't felt that since I had transformed.

I walked back out into the hallway, smiling weakly at my mom, whose mouth was composed into a thin, tight line. She smiled back, though it was forced. She was worried. I could tell.

"Now, we are going to give you an MRI, take some blood tests, and wrap up with some xrays. The test results will either be in later today or early tomorrow, depending on how fast this works." Jacklyn explained, taking me and my mom into the room where I would be taking the MRI.

I laid down on the machine, Jacklyn making sure I was good to go. "Alright, now, you are going to have to be completely still to get a good reading." She said. I nodded. "Sounds easy." I said.

She exited the room, going into a viewing room with my mom, who was watching me. Another doctor came in and explained something to my mom, who was nodding. He pressed a few buttons and suddenly I was being pulled into the machine. I sighed.

"You alright, Mr. Fenton?" The male doctor asked me over the intercom. "I'm fine." I swallowed around my nervousness. It took a couple minutes before I was being pulled out of the machine.

Jacklyn came back down to get me, and we went into the hallway to speak with the doctor and my mom. "Now...this isn't showing anything that's wrong with his head...but...it doesn't make sense why he will go to sleep and not wake up for another couple. It could have something to do with his ghost half." The doctor contemplated.

"Keep running the tests. I'll talk to the Guys in White researchers we hired soon after we found about half ghosts." The doctor said. I paled, feeling nauseous. "They won't hurt you. They don't know about _you_. Amity is keeping you a secret from everyone else." The doctor said. I sighed in relief.

"Okay. Good." I said.

The rest of the visit was with blood tests and xrays. I made sure to not scream at the needles and Jacklyn made sure not to kill me. The xrays revealed I had a fractured wrist, ankle, and shin bone. My mom glared at me for that one.

"They were probably breaks and have already healed. My ghost side heals me pretty fast." I said. Jacklyn hummed at that, writing my statement down. "I want to do all the tests again." She said. I paled.

"What?!" I screeched. "In your ghost form. I want to see if anything is different." She said. I groaned, transforming. My hospital clothes turned into my jumpsuit and my black hair into white, we've been through this enough, you know what to expect.

"Excellent. Go put on the same clothes as before and meet me in the MRI room." She said shooing me out of the room. I did as I was told, though it was weird to be hanging onto my jumpsuit while in Phantom form, awkwardly turned the corner and went into the MRI room.

Jacklyn sat me down again, and we did everything we did last time just with the fact that I was in ghost form. They told me they were giving all the results to the GiW and not reveal my identity. "Don't worry. I would stay in Ghost form for the time being. Do not transform." She said.

"I revert back when I lose consciousness." I pointed out. She hummed. "Can you develope something for that?" She asked my mom. She nodded. "We would need to run a few test of our own on him, but I don't know if he would be okay with that."

"It's either that, or he doesn't sleep."

"Mom, you can test on me." I said quickly. They laughed, and I went invisible, the clothes falling of and putting on the jumpsuit. I was visible in three seconds. My mom rolled her eyes, and pushed me out of the hospital.

"At least nothings wrong with my head." I said, getting in the car. My mom nodded in agreement, raising her eyebrow.

"Seatbelt?" She asked, her voice questioning.

"I'm already dead."

"Seatbelt."

"Wow." I grumbled, buckling up. It's pointless because right now, I won't die because I'm in ghost form. She rolled her eyes. "It's the _law, _Daniel." She deadpanned, pulling onto the road.

"Did you know that you emit the cold in Phantom form but not Fenton?" She asked. I nodded. "While I'm human, my core disappears and I have a human heart. Ghost form I have what you would call an elemental core. Ice powers." I explained. She looked to me in curiosity. "Wow...you are gonna have to tell me everything you know about ghosts." She decided.

I laughed. "Thats a lot of knowledge for a ghost hunter." I joked. She smirked. "Good. Your father and I will become the greatest ghost hunters in the world." She laughed manically. I rolled my eyes.

"So _thats _where I get my dramatic flair." I decided. She nodded. "You are my mini me Danny, get used to it." She said, then all conversations stopped and she just looked my way occasionally.

She pulled into the driveway and I hopped out of the car, racing into the house so I couldn't draw any attention. "Danny, why are you in ghost form?" Sam asked immediately as I walked through the door.

"They want to see if my ghost form can heal my human form up if it is anything major. They don't think it is. I should be fine, but they want to know for sure." I shrugged, rubbing at my arms through my jumpsuit. My jumpsuit ususally felt like a second skin, but right now it was just uncomfortable.

"Okay...so how long do you have to stay like that?" She asked. My mom came through the door, hearing the conversation. "That's to be determined. Honey, go down to the lab to see if your dad has anything that can keep you in that form." She asked politely, taking out her wallet and going upstairs. I sighed.

"What's going on?" Sam whispered. I rolled my eyes. "There is the condition that I turn back to human when I fall asleep. Doc said for my parents to make something so that doesn't happen." I groaned, heading down the stairs with Sam by my side.

"Dannyboy! You are just in time! Your mother called me when you were getting your MRI and told me to start developing this! The Fenton Keeper!" He bellowed, holding out a small ring. I raised an eyebrow. "It'll keep you from changing your forms." He explained, throwing it to me. I examined it and prayed that my dad actually took thought about whether or not it would hurt me.

I slipped it on, immediately feeling like I couldn't use the bulk of my powers. I felt like my body was glued in place. I frowned in discomfort. "Any pain?" My dad asked.

"No...it feels like I can't use my powers though." I told him. He nodded, lips pursed in thought. "Wear the prototype and I'll keep that in mind when I make a more modifyed version. But I need your ecto signature." He said.

"It's in the boomerang." I said. Sam laughed. My dad raised a brow. "The booomerang? Why that?"

"It hit me in the head once." I said. My dad took out the piece of equipment and looked at me. "You are going to test it, aren't you?" I asked, just as he flung the boomerang in the opposite direction of me. Just as expected, it changed tragectory and hit me in the back of the head.

I fell on the ground.

"Wow…" I said, rubbing my head. My dad laughed and applauded. "Okay, another invention that works! This is so great! Now, just for some ectoplasm." He pulled out a needle and I looked at Sam who shrugged."...I'll meet you outside whenever you are done with tests." She said, smiling happily and going up the stairs.

I faced my dad again, who was grinning at me.

Oh no.

…

After the tests, my dad was downstairs for the rest of the night working on a new ring. I couldn't use _any _of my powers and I had to walk up the stairs to go outside to meet Sam. I smiled at my mom, who was making dinner and went outside to the sunsetting.

Sam was sitting in the grass, gazing up at the just appearing stars in the sky. "Whatcha doing?" I asked.

"Thinking of the future." She mumbled, turning her gaze towards me when I laid down next to her. I smiled.

"Where do you see it?" I asked.

"I see our child, and I see you… but I see all of that in the future. I don't see it right now." She sighed. I look towards her. "What do you mean?"

"Dylan was right. I got together with you because I thought it would fix you, and I know that I still hold those feelings in my mind, though they aren't stronger than my love for you." She confessed. I nodded.

"I don't care about that anymore." I whispered, taking her hand in mine. She sighed, and laughed sadly.

"But I _do_. Danny, I want my love to unconditional. I don't think I'm ready for this. I live with you, I eat with you, and I sleep with you. We are eighteen in our last year of high school. I want you to be able to live it...so I decided that I'm going with my parents." She whispered.

"..." I didn't know what to say. My girlfriend was leaving the country?

"I'll be finishing out my schooling in France, and I'll have the baby here. It won't be forever, and I'm going to have to _go back_ to finish High School and I'll leave the baby here. I already talked to your mom and my mom about it. I want to know how we do with being apart, and if we can handle being together forever." She said.

"Sam, I don't understand…" I said sadly.

"I know...I don't either. I leave tomorrow...I found out that my parents wanted me in France as soon as possible...I don't want to go, and I _love _you...but this is something we have to do. I want to know that our love is pure." She said, standing up.

"So this is goodbye?" I asked.

"More of a...see you later." She smiled, pecking my her lips on mine and pulling me into a tight hug.

"I don't ever want to say goodbye to you." I said. She smiled into my neck. "You will never have to."

…

_So this is the end of Battle Scars, and trust me….there is a sequel._

_The name is undecided at the moment but it will maybe be up later today. I promise I will never leave you hanging like that._

_Thanks for reading and going on this adventure with me._

_See you later,_

_ForeverPhantom_


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